UC-NRLF 


iKIMITIVE  BUDDHISM 


ITS  ORWIN  AND  TEACHINGS 


KLI/AHKTIl   A.  REED,  A.   M. 


[EMBER   <>K   THE    I'HILOSOPHK  \i.   >.»CIETY    op  URKAT   HRITAIN,  MEMBER  OF 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS  ov  ORIENTALISTS,  AUTHOR  OF 

••  HINDI"  LITERATURE, "  "  PERSIAN  LITERATURE," 

"(Til  I  C  A  (JO 

SCOTT,     F()IM-:SMA\     A     (() 
.  ^ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

Lt.  Col.  George  White 


I 


BL 


PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM 

ITS  ORIGIN  AND  TEACHINGS. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

A    BLESSING   TO   INDIA  —  A   BENEFIT  TO  WOMAN 

—  CRITICAL   STUDY  OF  BUDDHISM  —  NUMBER 

OF     ADHERENTS          ,'.  .  .  .  .    -  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

NUMEROUS  BUDDHAS. 

TWENTY-FOUR       PREDECESSORS       OF       GAUTAMA 

—  DIPANKARA  —  KONDA$NA  —  MANGALA— 
8UMANA — REVATA —  SOBHITA  —  THREE  BUD- 
DHAS —  PADMUTTARA  —  SUMEDHA  —  SUJATA 

—  VIPASSIN  —  SPHERE     OF    MANIFESTATIONS 

—  HIGHEST  ACHIEVEMENT  .  .  ,  31 

3 


4  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

CHAPTER  III. 
BUDDHISTIC  ACCOUNT  OP  GAUTAMA  BUDDHA. 

THB  LALITA  VI8TARA  —  THE  JATAKA  —  BIRTH 
OP  GAUTAMA  —  PHYSICAL  SIGNS  OF  A  BUD- 
DHA—  HIS  MANHOOD — THE  FOUR  VISIONS 

—  GREAT     RENUNCIATION  —  THE     ESCAPE  — 
GREAT  TEMPTATION  —  ATTAINMENT  OF  BUD- 
DHAHOOD  —  FIRST         CONVERTS  —  RETURN 
HOME— FIRST  MONASTERY 

CHAPTER   IV. 
HISTORIC  SKETCH  OF  BUDDHA. 

THE  THEORY  OF  A  MYTH  — BIRTH  AND  EARLY 
LIFE  —  ASCETICISM  —  ENLIGHTENMENT— DIS- 
COURSE AT  BENARES  —  SERMON  ON  THE 
NON-EXISTENCE  OF  THE  SOUL  — THE  FIRE 
SERMON  —  RELIEF  FROM  TRANSMIGRATION— 
THE  FATAL  MEAL  —  THE  DEATH  OF  BUDDHA 

CHABTER  V. 
TEACHINGS  OF  BUDDHISM. 

TRANSMIGRATION — FORMER  BIRTHS  OF  BUD- 
DHA— THE  JATAKAS — THE  ORTHODOX  BELIEF 

—  VARIOUS  FORMS  ASSUMED  —  THE  MONKEYS 
AND  THE    DEMON  —  THE    WILY   ANTELOPE - 
THE    BULL  WHO   WON    THE    BET  —  THE    FISH 
AND  HIS  WIFE  — THE   WISE  JUDGE 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  TEACHINGS  OF  BUDDHISM,   CONCLUDED. 

METAPHYSICS  —  THE  SOUL  —  ATHEISM  — -  POLY- 
THEISM —  IDOLATRY  —  PRAYER  —  PESSIMISM 
—HEAVEN— HELL  —  SALVATION  —  MORALITY 

—  NIRVANA — PARI-NIRVANA         .       .~  .    ,        .  104 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  BUDDHIST  ORDER  OF  MONKS. 

ORDINATION  OF   THE   BHIKKHUS,   OR   MONKS 

—  RULES   FOR  THEIR  DIRECTION — UNSANI- 
TARY LAWS — UNSANITARY  CLOTHING — PRO- 
TECTION FROM  VENOMOUS   SERPENTS  —  THE 
SERPENT   WHO  JOINED  THE  ORDER  —  NUNS 

—  BUDDHA'S  PROPHECY  —  RESULTS  OF  MONK- 
HOOD        133 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE. 

LITERARY  ACTIVITY  IN  THE  EAST  —  THE  ART 
OF  WRITING — EXTENT  OF  THE  BUDDHIST 
SCRIPTURES  —  THE  DATE  OF  THE  CANON  — 
THE  TRI-PITAKA — THE  VINAYA  TEXTS — CARE 
OF  THE  BOWLS  —  TOOTH  STICKS  —  THE  WON- 
DERS OF  BUDDHA  —  GREAT  EFFICACY  OF 
RECITATION  —  INTEGRITY  OF  THE  TEXT  150 


6  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,  CONTINUED. 

THE  SECOND  PITAKA —  THE  MAHA-PARINIB- 
BANA — THE  PROXIMATE  CAUSES  OF  EARTH- 
QUAKES— THE  DHAMMA-PADA — PUNISHMENT 
—THE  8UTTA-NIPATA — THE  THIRD  PITAKA— 
THE  MAHA-YANA,  OR  NORTHERN  SCHOOL 
—THE  BUDDHA-KARITA-KAVVA— THE  SUTRAS 
OP  JAPAN — THE  AMITAYUR-DHYANA —  THE 
VAGRAK-KHEDIKA — THE  DOCTRINAL  TEACH- 
ING OF  THE  SUTRA — THE  PRAGMA  -PAR  AMITA 

—  THE      TlNTRA       LITERATURE —  STRIKING 
CONTRASTS  .  .  .  ...  163 

CHAPTER  X. 
EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,   CONCLUDED. 

BUDDHA'S     INDEBTEDNESS     TO    BRAHMANISM 

—  THE    DHAMMA-PADA  —  SIMILARITIES    TO 
OLD     TESTAMENT     TEACHINGS  —  POSSIBLE 
SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION — SUMMARY       .          183 

CHAPTER  XI. 
CONCLUSION. 

PRIMITIVE     BUDDHISM    IN     INDIA — ORIGIN     OF 
THE    SYSTEM  —  ATHEISM  —  TRANSMIGRATION 
—  KARMA — PESSIMISM — METAPHYSICS —  THE 
ACCUMULATION    OF   MERIT— NIRVANA — LIT- 
ERATURE—  THE     ORIGINALITY     OF    BUDDHA 

—  CAUSES  OF   EXTENSIVE   INFLUENCE  198 


PREFACE. 


philosophies  of  the  East  have  often  been  pre- 
sented to  the  western  world  during  the  last  few 
years,  and  much  interest  has  been  awakened,  especially 
in  the  subject  of  Buddhism.  Although  the  number  of 
its  adherents  has  been  greatly  overestimated,  still  this 
system  controls,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  the 
thought  of  millions  of  our  fellow-beings,  and  it  is 
entitled  to  a  fair  and  impartial  examination.  There 
are  comparatively  few  people,  however,  in  this  busy 
age,  who  have  time  to  make  an  exhaustive  research  on 
the  subject,  and  it  is  thought,  therefore,  that  a  com- 
prehensive handbook,  which  has  been  carefully 
prepared,  will  be  welcome  to  many,  who  will  be  glad 
to  learn,  quickly  and  easily,  what  this  philosophy 
really  is. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  the  present  work  to  follow 
the  system  in  the  various  changes  through  which  it 
has  passed,  or  to  discuss  the  protean  forms  which  it 
has  assumed  in  modern  times,  but  to  present,  in  as 
brief  a  manner  as  is  consistent  with  accuracy,  the 

7 


8  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

authoritative  teachings  of  primitive  and  genuine  Bud 
dhism. 

It  would  appear  that  such  works  are  greatly  needed 
from  the  fact  that  theories  have  been  advocated 
as  the  doctrines  of  Buddhism  of  which  its  founder 
never  heard,  and  statements  have  been  made  upon  the 
modern  platform  which  could  astonish  no  one  so  much 
as  Gautama  and  his  early  followers.  When  speculation 
is  rife  upon  any  subject,  the  truth  can  only  be  ob- 
tained by  an  appeal  "to  the  law  and  the  testimony." 
Every  system  has  a  right  to  demand  that  it  be  judged 
by  its  own  official  documents,  and,  therefore,  the  utmost 
care  has  been  taken  to  present,  in  condensed  form,  the 
doctrines  of  the  early  Buddhists,  as  set  forth  in  their 
own  standard  works. 

Quotations  have  not  only  been  accurately  made,  but 
the  references  are  given,  so  that  they  may  be  easily 
verified,  as  the  books  belonging  to  the  Buddhistic  canon 
are  now  available  to  the  English-speaking  world,  and 
they  may  be  found  in  many  of  our  libraries.  Among 
the  best  in  this  respect  is  the  Chicago  Public  Library, 
where  a  wealth  of  Oriental  lore  is  ever  at  the  service 
of  the  student. 

The  selections  in  the  present  volume  have  been 
made  from  the  official  documents  of  the  early  Bud- 
dhists, as  found  in  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  and 
elsewhere.  These  are  authorities  which  no  scholar  will 


PREFACE.  9 

question,   and   it   will   be  found  that  the    integrity   of 
the  text   has  been  sufficiently  maintained. 

Besides  the  books  belonging  to  the  canon,  the 
author  is  indebted  to  the  works  and,  in  some  cases,  to 
the  private  correspondence,  also,  of  the  most  accom- 
plished Orientalists  in  the  world  of  scholars.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  acknowledge  one's  indebtedness  to  such 
men  as  Prof.  James  Legge,  Sir  Monier  Monier- Will- 
iams, K.  C.  I.  E.,  Prof.  F.  Max  Miiller,  Rhys  Davids, 
Oldenberg,  Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce,  Burnouf,  Barthelemy 
Saint  Hilaire  and  others,  the  credits  being  given 
where  the  quotations  are  made. 

Especial  thanks  are  also  due  to  the  distinguished 
savants  who  have  carefully  examined  portions  of  the 
manuscript,  and  given  it  the  benefit  of  their  invaluable 
criticism.  The  principal  points  in  the  tenth  chapter 
were  presented  by  the  author,  in  a  paper  recently  read 
before  the  Victoria  Institute,  or  Philosophical  Society 
of  Great  Britain,  and  before  it  was  accepted  there,  it 
was  submitted,  by  the  officers  of  the  Institute,  to  the 
leading  scholars  of  the  world  in  this  particular  field  of 
letters. 

Hence,  it  is  offered  to  the  public  only  after  it  has 
been  honored,  by  critical  examination  and  thoughtful 
discussion,  by  eminent  Orientalists. 

Cordial  thanks  are  due  the  American  press  for  gen- 
erous notices  of  the  author's  previous  works,  in  many 


10  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

instances  columns  having  been  devoted  to  able  and 
discriminating  reviews.  It  is  a  pleasure,  also,  to  ac- 
knowledge the  courtesies  of  the  European  press,  as 
shown  in  some  of  their  most  influential  journals,  and 
the  cordial  encouragement  of  distinguished  Oriental 
scholars,  whose  congratulations  and  words  of  approval 
have  been  especially  grateful. 

Technical  terms  and  proper  names  have  been 
avoided  as  far  as  possible,  but  a  few  are  necessarily 
used,  and  diacritical  points  are  given  as  a  guide  to 
the  pronunciation. 

The  work  has  been  prepared  in  the  hope  that  it 
may  be  of  real  service  to  careful  students  in  this  field 
of  thought,  and  it  is  commended  to  their  attention  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PKONUNCIATIOK 


A  LITTLE  attention  to  the  diacritical  points  will 
enable  the    reader    to    pronounce    correctly  the 
musical  names  of  the  Buddhists  and  Hindus. 

In  the  present  volume  Sir  Monier  Monier- Williams' 
method  of  transliteration,  as  presented  in  his  Sanskrit 
Grammar,  has  been  chiefly  used.  The  nasal  m,  how- 
ever, is  indicated  here,  as  in  the  works  of  Prof.  F. 
Max  Miiller,  by  the  italic  letter. 

Diacritical  points  are  omitted  from  the  foot  notes, 
the  system  of  pronunciation  being  sufficiently  indicated 
in  the  body  of  the  work. 

A — a  is  pronounced  as  in  rural. 
A— a  "  "     tar,  father,  etc. 

I— i  "     fill. 

I — I  "  "     police. 

U— u  "  "     full. 

Ri — n  "  "     merrily. 

Rj — p  «  <<     marine 

E — e  "  "     prey. 

Ai — ai  "  "     aisle. 

Au— an  "  "     Haws  (German). 

N— n  sounded  like  n  in  the  French  mow. 
N — n         "        as  in  none  (nun). 
11 


PRONUNCIATION. 


N — n  like  ng  in  siny  (sin). 

5T — fl  like  n  in  singe. 

m  (italic)  has  a  nasal  sound. 

h  is  a  visarga,  or  a  distinctly  audible   sound    aspi- 
rate. 

K — k    sounded  like  ch  in  church. 
Kh — kh  pronounced  as  in  inMorn. 

G— g 
Gh— gh  "  " 


T-t 

Th—  th 

P-4 

Dh—  <Jh 

Th—  th 


dolce   (in  music),   English 

ch  as  in  church. 
true. 


S—  8 


drum. 
red  Paired. 
nutfAook,      though 

dental. 

sure,  sessions. 
sir  or  miss. 


more 


TJ  in  Buddha  is  pronounced  like  oo  in  food. 


PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM 

ITS  ORIGIN  AND  TEACHINGS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

A  BLESSING  TO  INDIA  —  A  BENEFIT  TO  WOMAN  — 
CRITICAL  STUDY  OF  BUDDHISM  —  NUMBER  OF  ADHER- 
ENTS. 

A  BOUT  the  fifth  century  before  our  era,  there  was 
-*-^-  formulated  in  India  a  system  of  philosophy  known 
as  Buddhism.  It  was  the  patron  of  good  works,  and 
opposed  the  priestly  tyranny  of  the  Brahmans.  It 
taught  self-denial  without  self-torture,  and  inculcated 
charity,  tolerance  and  humanity.  It  forbade  avarice 
and  discouraged  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  while  it 
promoted,  to  a  certain  extent,  both  physical  and  moral 
progress. 

In  its  primitive  form,  it  was  merely  a  system  of 
philosophy  founded  upon  a  pessimistic  view  of  life,  but 
it  soon  acquired  the  character  of  a  religion.  Still,  it 
made  no  war  upon  existing  faiths;  its  advocates 
claimed  that  a  man  could  consistently  be  a  Brahman, 


14  PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

a  Taoist,  or  anything  else,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
Buddhist — therefore  it  made  wonderful  progress  in  the 
East. 

Although  largely  evolved  from  Brahmanism,  it 
almost  entirely  supplanted  the  older  faith  upon  its 
native  soil,  and  eventually  included  in  its  conquests 
nearly  the  whole  of  Eastern  Asia.  It  was  introduced 
into  China  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  and  soon 
became  one  of  the  three  state  religions  of  the  empire, 
although  it  did  not  find  a  home  in  Japan  until  hun- 
dreds of  years  later. 

It  was  the  ruling  intellectual  power  in  India  from 
the  time  it  supplanted  Brahmanism  until  the  fourth 
or  fifth  century,  when  it  began  to  lose  its  position, 
although  it  maintained  itself,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  until  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century.  At 
this  time  it  had  become  so  largely  absorbed  in  the 
worship  of  Vishnu  and  £iva  that  it  lost  its  individ- 
uality, and  was  soon  merged  into  the  composite  forms 
of  Hinduism. 

Surely  a  system  which  has  for  centuries  held  an 
important  position  in  history,  and  which  still  controls 
the  thought  of  millions  of  our  race,  is  entitled  to  a 
fair  and  impartial  consideration.  An  examination, 
however,  of  the  multitudinous  forms  of  modern 
Buddhism  would  occupy  several  volumes,  for  it  has 
assumed  different  phases  in  every  country  which  it  has 
approached,  always  assimilating  the  leading  thought  of 
the  people  whom  it  sought  to  proselyte. 

It  is  the  province,  therefore,  of  the  present  work  to 
investigate  the  system  in  its  primitive  and  purest 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  15 

form,  endeavoring  to  ascertain  what  theories  and  prin- 
ciples were  taught  by  Gautama  Buddha  and  his  early 
followers,  and  alluding  to  modern  developments  only 
so  far  as  they  appear  to  be  the  result  of  such  teaching. 

In  Japan,  finding  itself  unable  to  displace  the 
earlier  systems,  it  embraced  Shintoism,  while  in  Cey- 
lon, Burmah  and  Siam,  it  was  grafted  upon  serpent 
worship,  Naga1  worship  and  demon  worship,  with  all 
of  which,  as  well  as  the  adoration  of  certain  Hindu 
gods,  it  is  still  connected. 

In  Tibet  it  was  amalgamated  with  Shamanism,2  and 
although  combined  with  magic,  and  oiferings  to  Siva, 
it  has  an  organization  similar  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
the  Grand  Lama  being  the  Pope.  They  have  the 
celibacy  of  the  priesthood,  the  worship  of  the  saints, 
confessions,  fasting,  processions  and  holy  water.  They 
have,  too,  the  cross  and  miter,  the  service  with  double 
choirs,  the  exorcisms,  and  the  censer  for  incense.  It 
is  probable  that  some  of  these  ideas  were  derived  from 
Catholicism  in  later  times,  but  it  is  true  that  the  prac- 
tice of  celibacy,  confession,  and  fasting  existed  in 
Buddhism  before  the  birth  of  the  Roman  Church. 

Primitive  Buddhism  was  at  first  opposed  to  eccle- 
siastical organization,  having  no  God,  no  priests  and 
no  church.  It  was  simply  a  brotherhood,  consisting 
of  men  who  had  renounced  all  family  ties,  and  even 

i  The  Nagas  properly  belong  to  a  class  of  serpent  demons,  having 
human  faces,  with  serpent-like  lower  extremities,  and  they  live  in  one  of 
the  lower  regions  of  the  earth. 

2 The  principal  elements  in  Shamanism  are  the  worship  of  nature 
and  the  dread  of  spirits.  It  has  much  in  common  with  the  lowest  types 
of  Saivism,  Saktism  and  Tantrism.—  Williams, 


16  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

all  desire  for  life,  men  who  had  pledged  themselves 
to  devote  their  time  to  the  recitation  of  the  law,  self- 
restraint  and  the  accumulation  of  merit,  for  the  sake 
of  their  own  deliverance.  Being  opposed  to  all  sacer- 
dotalism and  ceremonial  observances,  it  abolished,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  sacrificial  system  of  the  Brahmans, 
and  rejected  the  terrible  methods  of  self-torture,  main- 
taining that  a  life  of  purity  and  morality  was  better 
than  all  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  Vedic  ritual. 

The  first  idea  implied  by  Buddhism  is  intellectual 
enlightenment,  but  this  must  be  acquired  by  man 
through  his  own  inner  consciousness,  unaided  by 
external  influences.  It  advocated  self-conquest,  self- 
concentration  and  separation  from  the  world  for  the 
attainment  of  true  knowledge,  and  yet  it  encouraged 
association,  by  establishing  a  brotherhood  of  celibate 
monks.  It  taught  the  doctrines  of  republicanism  by 
admitting  to  this  brotherhood  every  caste  and  rank, 
the  humblest  Sudra  being  as  welcome  there  as  the 
most  aristocratic  Brahman.  The  rich  and  the  poor, 
the  learned  and  the  ignorant,  were  all  bound  together 
by  the  desire  of  self-conquest  and  the  common  wish 
to  be  guided  by  the  doctrines  which  were  promulgated 
by  Buddha. 

The  new  sect  remained  for  a  long  time  obscure, 
but  its  success  was  greatly  hastened  and,  perhaps, 
largely  accomplished  by  political  events.  Chandra- 
gupta,  who  was  a  low-born  Sudra,  usurped  the  throne 
of  Magada,  after  killing  king  Wanda.  He  founded  the 
Maurya  dynasty,  and  extended  the  kingdom  of  Magada 
all  over  Hindustan,  soon  becoming  so  powerful  that 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  17 

the  successor  of  Alexander  thought  it  politic  to  form 
an  alliance  with  the  Hindu  king,  and  sent  an  ambas- 
sador to  reside  at  his  court. 

After  the  death  of  the  king's  son,  Asoka,  who  was 
the  grandson  of  Chandra-gupta,  succeeded  to  the 
throne,1  and  became  one  of  the  most  powerful  mon- 
archs  of  India.  This  dynasty  held  its  position  in 
defiance  of  the  Brahmanic  priesthood,  the  kings 
themselves  having  been  born  of  the  lowest  caste ;  it 
was,  therefore,  natural  that  Asoka  should  ally  himself 
with  a  system  which  proclaimed  equality  between  the 
Sudra  and  the  Brahman,  so  far  as  the  brotherhood 
was  concerned,  and  he  made  Buddhism  the  state 
religion  of  India. 

But  there  had  been  serious  dissensions  in  the  ranks, 
even  during  the  time  of  Buddha,  and  before  long, 
eighteen  schismatic  schools  of  thought  were  estab- 
lished. Two  councils  had  been  held,  in  order,  if 
possible,  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  but  the  resulting 
controversies  were  of  the  most  discouraging  character, 
and  another  became  necessary.  The  third  council  was, 
therefore,  held  at  Patna  during  the  sixteenth  or  sev- 
enteenth year  of  Asoka's  reign. 

The  whole  canon  is  supposed  to  have  been  trans- 
mitted orally  from  one  generation  to  another,  even 
at  this  time,  as  the  Buddhists  do  not  claim  that  it 
was  committed  to  writing  earlier  than  the  first  century 
before  Christ.2 

After  the  third  council,  missionaries  were  supported 
by  king  As"oka,  and  sent  in  all  directions,  one  of  the 

i  About  260  B.  C.  2  About  85  B.  C. 


18  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

first  being  the  king's  own  son,  who  carried  the  doc- 
trine into  Ceylon.  Afterward  the  system  spread  over 
the  whole  of  India  and  some  adjoining  countries, 
while  it  eventually  became  the  ruling  creed  of  Eastern 
Asia. 

BUDDHISM   A   BLESSING   TO   INDIA. 

At  the  time  of  the  rise  of  the  new  philosophy, 
India  was  burdened  to  the  utmost  with  a  system  of 
caste  which  recognized  neither  justice  nor  mercy. 
Under  this  iron  law  the  people  were  divided  into  four 
classes,  the  first  or  highest  being  the  Brahmans,  or 
the  priesthood,  of  whom  it  was  declared  that  they 
were  "twice  born,"  and  even  the  kings  were  subject 
to  them.  The  second  was  the  Kshatriya,  or  military 
caste,  which  included  also  the  kings  and  the  royal 
families.  The  third  was  the  Vaisya,  which  was  com- 
posed of  the  agricultural  class,  and  the  fourth  was 
made  up  of  the  Sudras  or  slaves. 

The  Brahmans  were  numerous  and  powerful,  and 
they  instituted  a  complicated  ceremonial  which  em- 
braced every  public  and  private  act.  No  marriage 
could  be  solemnized  without  them ;  no  dead  could  be 
disposed  of,  no  sick  could  be  properly  attended,  no 
household  set  up,  without  their  ministrations.  Every 
prayer  must  be  prescribed,  and  every  sacrifice  deter- 
mined, for  only  the  Brahmans  knew  which  deity 
should  be  invoked  at  each  particular  time,  or  what 
offering  would  please  him.  Any  mistake  in  reference 
to  the  clarified  butter,  or  the  length  of  the  ladle  used, 
brought  down  upon  the  head  of  the  offender  not  only 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  19 

the  wrath  of  the  priest,  but  also  the  fury  of  the  gods. 
It  was  impossible  to  avoid  evil  without  the  interven- 
tion of  the  priests,  for  no  one  else  knew  what  food 
could  be  safely  eaten,  or  what  dress  might  be  properly 
worn,  and  their  services  must  be  amply  rewarded. 
Indeed,  Brahmanism  was  a  system  of  organized  rob- 
bery, and  the  priests  made  life  intolerable  for  any 
one  who  happened  to  offend  them  by  the  smallest 
seeming  neglect. 

Not  only  did  this  complicated  ceremonial  embrace 
every  moment  of  a  man's  life  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave,  but  it  encouraged  the  most  painful  austerities. 
"Some  devotees  seated  themselves  in  one  spot,  and 
kept  perpetual  silence,  with  their  legs  bent  under  them, 
for  years.  Some  ate  only  at  intervals  of  four,  six  or 
fourteen  days.  Some  slept  on  ashes,  gravel,  stones, 
thorny  grass  or  spikes,  with  the  face  downward.  Some 
gazed  at  the  sun  until  totally  blind,  or  sat  surrounded 
by  five  fires,  or  rested  on  one  foot,  or  kept  one  arm 
perpetually  uplifted,  or  baked  themselves  on  hot  stones, 
or  submerged  their  bodies  in  water,  or  suspended 
themselves  in  air."1 

The  object  of  these  self-tortures  was  a  union  with 
the  Supreme  Being,  and  this  could  only  be  attained 
by  bodily  mortification  and  abstract  meditation.  As 
Buddha  did  not  believe  in  a  Supreme  Being,  he  could 
not  advocate  these  barbarous  methods  of  approaching 
him.  In  later  times,  however,  the  development  of 
Buddhistic  ideas  resulted  in  a  connection  with  this 
very  system,  and  many  Buddhists  now  hold,  with  the 

iSir  Monier  Monier- Williams,  "Buddhism,"  p.  228. 


20  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

Yoga  of  the  Brahmans,  that  adepts  skilled  in  occult 
science  may,  by  a  determined  effort  of  will,  force  out 
the  ethereal  body  through  the  pores  of  the  skin,  and 
make  this  phantasmal  form  visible  in  distant  places. 

Primitive  Buddhism  taught  self-restraint,  and 
preached  purity  in  thought,  word  and  action ;  it  en- 
couraged literature  and  art,  it  advocated  the  principles 
of  fraternity.  It  elevated  the  morality  of  the  people 
by  teaching  respect  for  the  lives  of  others,  even 
though  its  summum  bonum  was  the  extinction  of  all 
life.  It  was  a  blessing  to  India,  because  it  opposed 
the  penitential  austerities  and  self-inflicted  sufferings 
which  obtained  under  the  influence  of  the  Brahmans, 
and  instead  of  the  severe  penances  and  excommunica- 
tions which  were  inflicted  by  the  priests  for  trifling 
offenses,  Buddha  at  first  required  only  public  confes- 
sion and  a  promise  to  abstain  from  wrong-doing  in 
the  future. 

It  was  an  advance  toward  social  liberty,  as  it  advo- 
cated the  republican  doctrine  of  equality  in  the  Broth- 
erhood,1 and  proclaimed  that  "  the  highest  path "  was 
open  to  the  members  of  all  castes. 

It  was  a  blessing  to  India,  in  that  it  opposed  the 
ecclesiastical  tyranny  of  a  well  paid  priesthood,  but  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  charitable  gifts  which  had 
been  monopolized  by  the  Brahmans  did  not  contribute 
to  the  comfort  of  the  oppressed  people ;  they  merely 

i  Although  the  secret  of  Buddha's  success  lay  in  his  disregard  of  the 
privileges  of  the  priestly  class,  still  he  did  not  wish  to  abolish  caste  as  a 
social  institution,  and  there  is  no  trace  of  social  or  democratic  communism 
in  any  of  his  sermons.  His  only  attacks  were  leveled  against  the  exclusive 
privileges  claimed  by  the  Brahmans,  and  against  their  cruel  treatment  of 
the  lower  castes.— Max  Muller,  Chips,  Vol.  II,  p.  337. 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  21 

began  to  flow  into  new  channels,  supporting  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  Buddhist  mendicants.  And  even  to-day, 
births  and  marriages,  illness  and  death,  are  great  sources 
of  revenue  to  the  Buddhistic  priesthood. 

It  was  a  blessing,  in  so  far  as  it  advocated  the  prin- 
ciples of  kindness,  and  it  did  good  service  for  the  time 
in  promoting  literature  and  art,  and  inculcating  the 
doctrine  of  the  accumulation  of  merit  by  good  actions. 
It  was  a  great  improvement  upon  Brahmanism,  even 
though  its  final  hope  was  the  abolition  of  suffering  by 
the  abolition  of  existence. 

A    BENEFIT  TO   WOMAN. 

Although  Buddhism  made  war  upon  the  home  by 
enjoining  monkhood, — it  commanded  men  who  were 
already  married  to  abandon  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, to  lay  aside  all  efforts  to  make  a  livelihood  in  a 
legitimate  way,  and  take  up  their  abode  with  the  monks 
who  begged  their  bread  from  door  to  door  —  although  it 
declared  that  "the  life  of  woman  is  always  darkness,"1 
still  it  was  a  benefit  to  woman,  in  that  it  allowed  her  to 
become  a  nun,  under  the  same  rules  which  obtained  in 
communities  of  men,  and  thus  attain  to  a  semblance  of 
equality.  The  system  also  admitted  "  lay  brothers  and 
lay  sisters,"  married  householders  and  working  men, 
for  Buddha  saw  that  this  course  was  necessary.  If  all 
Buddhists  were  monks  and  nuns,  there  would  be  no  work 
done,  and  no  food  produced,  hence  the  communities 
must  be  depopulated  by  starvation.  Nevertheless  these 

i  Buddha-karita,  1, 17.    This  work  is  assigned  to  the  first  century. 


22  PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

married  householders  could  not  attain  to  "the  highest 
path." 

Buddhists  do  not  require  the  imprisonment  of  wives 
and  daughters  in  the  Zenanas,  as  do  the  Mohammedans 
and  Brahmans  ;  on  the  contrary  the  women  of  the  family 
are  sometimes  introduced  to  European  guests,  and 
allowed  to  converse  freely.  The  child  marriages,  which 
constitute  one  of  the  most  terrible  curses  of  India,  are 
not  enforced  in  Buddhist  countries,  for  there  the  bride- 
groom is  seldom  less  than  eighteen  years  of  age. 

"  "Women,"  says  Renan,  "  were  indebted  to  Buddhism 
for  a  momentary  amelioration  of  their  fate.  The  new 
religion  gave  them  religious  importance.  They  were 
permitted  to  embrace  monastic  life,  and  to  practice  the 
same  rule  as  men.  No  doubt  they  preserved  a  notable 
inferiority  ;  they  could  not  directly  arrive  at  the  state  of 
Buddha,  but  they  were  enabled  to  reach  that  state  by 
being  born  again  as  men.  The  female  sex  continued  to 
be  a  punishment.  In  the  state  of  perfection  there  will 
be  no  women. 

"  The  miracle  of  a  change  of  sex  is  quite  frequent  in 
the  Buddhist  legends.  The  accomplished  woman  be- 
comes a  man.  That  is  what  happened  to  Sugata's 
daughter,  who  achieved  perfection.  Transformed  into 
a  man,  she  seated  herself  beneath  the  tree  of  intelligence 
and  entered  into  supreme  rest."1 

Great  respect  has  always  been  paid  by  Buddhists  to 
the  various  forms  of  animal  life  ;  so  strong  was  this 
sentiment  that  people  could  "accumulate  merit"  by 
purchasing  birds  (which  professional  bird  catchers 

i  Kenan,  "  Studies  in  Religious  History,"  p.  107. 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  23 

entrapped  for  that  purpose),  and  giving  them  liberty. 
All  animals  are  more  or  less  venerated,  for,  according  to 
the  theory  of  transmigration,  they  are  liable  to  be  the 
different  forms  of  one's  ancestors  ;  and  not  only  this, 
but  the  Buddha  is  supposed  to  have  been  incarnated  in 
many  of  them.  It  may  be  for  this  reason  that  the 
serpent,  the  bull,  the  pig,  the  monkey,  and  many  others, 
are  regarded  as  peculiarly  sacred. 

But  with  all  this  veneration  for  animal  life,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  during  the  long  centuries  of 
the  supremacy  of  Buddhism  in  India,  infants  were 
sometimes  sacrificed  and  living  women  were  burned 
upon  the  dead  bodies  of  their  husbands.  For  two 
thousand  years  the  horrible  custom  of  the  suttee 
prevailed  in  India,  until  it  was  abolished  by  the 
British  government  in  1830,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  why  Buddhism,  with  all  its  reverential 
care  for  animal,  serpent  and  insect  life,  did  not 
extend  its  protection  to  women  and  children.  It 
is  true  that  Buddhism  did  not  prevent  the  sacrifice 
of  her  children,  or  save  her  from  being  burned  alive, 
but  it  accorded  to  woman  a  certain  amount  of  social 
freedom,  and  also  permitted  her  to  become  a  nun, 
although  she  was  even  then  constantly  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  monks. 

CRITICAL  STUDY  OF   BUDDHISM. 

Although  this  system  has  been  a  real  power  in  the 
world  for  centuries,  and  still  dominates  the  thought  of 
millions  of  the  human  race,  it  was  comparatively  un- 
known in  the  western  world  until  very  modern  times. 


24  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

India  was  scarcely  more  than  a  name  to  the  scholars  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  what  information  they  had 
on  the  subject  was  derived,  more  or  less  at  random, 
from  China,  Tartary,  Japan,  Tibet,  and  other  countries, 
where  it  had  been  transplanted  from  its  native  soil. 

During  the  last  fifty  years,  however,  scholars  have 
made  marvelous  progress  in  the  way  of  collecting,  classi- 
fying and  translating  the  literature  belonging  to  this 
department  of  Oriental  lore.  The  scientific  study  of 
the  subject  really  began  soon  after  the  discovery  of  the 
original  documents  by  Mr  Hodgson,  who  was  then 
living  in  Nepal  as  the  political  resident  of  the  East 
India  Company.  This  distinguished  worker  in  Oriental 
fields  succeeded  in  sending  about  sixty  volumes  of  these 
works  to  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  and  after  a 
time  he  sent  two  complete  collections  of  the  same 
manuscripts  to  the  Asiatic  Society  of  London  and  the 
Societ6  Asiatique  of  Paris. 

While  Mr.  Hodgson's  discoveries  were  attracting  the 
attention  of  scholars  in  Calcutta,  a  Hungarian  scholar 
named  Alexander  Csoma  de  Koros  traveled  on  foot 
from  Hungary  to  Tibet,  and  learned  the  language, 
which  no  European,  up  to  his  time,  had  ever  mastered. 
He  then  explored  the  great  collection  of  the  canonical 
books  of  the  Buddhists  preserved  in  that  language,  but 
without  the  cordial  co-operation  of  the  members  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  he  could  have  accomplished  little,  as  the 
canon  of  the  Tibetans,  containing  many  repetitions, 
exceeds  in  bulk  the  sacred  books  of  any  other  nation. 

Almost  contemporaneously  with  these  discoveries,  a 
Russian  by  the  name  of  Schmidt  centered  his  efforts 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  25 

upon  the  Mongolian  language,  and  after  a  time  he  was 
able  to  translate  portions  of  the  Mongolian  version  of 
the  canon.  Within  a  very  few  years  George  Tumour 
presented  to  the  world  of  scholars  the  Buddhist  litera- 
ture of  Ceylon,  written  in  the  ancient  Pali  characters.1 
And  thus,  within  the  space  of  ten  years,  the  science  of 
letters  was  enriched  by  the  accession  of  four  complete 
Buddhist  literatures. 

The  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  Societe  Asiatique 
in  Paris  fell  into  the  hands  of  Burnouf,  and  after  seven 
years  of  labor  that  distinguished  savant  published  his 
"Introduction  a  FHistoire  du  Buddhism,"2  and  this 
book  seems  to  have  laid  the  foundation  of  the  system- 
atic study  of  the  subject.  Other  enthusiastic  scholars 
took  up  the  work,  so  that  in  these  later  years  we  need 
be  no  longer  ignorant  of  the  historic  facts  concerning 
Buddhism,  either  in  its  primitive  form  or  its  later 
developments. 

Translations  of  the  text  of  the  Pali  canon  have  been 
made  by  Childers,  Oldenberg,  Ehys  Davids,  Morris, 
Fausboll  and  others.  The  world  is  also  largely  indebted 
for  information  on  this  subject  to  the  works  of  Lassen, 
Tumour,  Hardy,  Gogerly,  Williams,  Weber,  Bigandet, 
Max  Miiller,  Kern,  Cowell,  Senart  and  others. 

It  is  a  theme  which  furnishes  abundant  material  for 
those  who  choose  to  follow  it  in  all  its  numerous 
changes,  for  Buddhism  has  developed  into  contradictory 

1  Some  scholars  suppose  that  the  Pali  resulted  from  an  artificial  infusion 
of  Sanskrit.     It  is  claimed  that  nearly  two-fifths  of  the  Pali  vocabulary 
consists  of  unmodified  Sanskrit.    It  probably  represented  the  prevailing 
dialect  of  the  time,  and  is  sometimes  called  Tanti. 

2  Published  in  1844. 


26  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

systems  in  different  countries,  presenting  a  new  phase 
in  each  locality,  while  in  India,  the  land  of  its  birth,  it 
changed  greatly  even  during  the  first  ten  years  of  its 
existence. 

M.  Barthelemy  Saint-Hilaire,  who  has  been  called 
"  the  first  historian  of  Buddhism,"  in  his  critical  work 
on  this  subject,  says :  "  It  is  the  misfortune  of  our 
times  that  the  doctrines  which  form  the  foundation 
of  Buddhism  meet,  at  the  hands  of  some  of  our 
philosophers,  with  a  favor  which  they  ill  deserve.  For 
some  years  we  have  seen  systems  arising  in  which  me- 
tempsychosis and  transmigration  are  highly  spoken  of, 
and  attempts  are  made  to  explain  the  world  and  man, 
without  either  a  God  or  a  Providence,  exactly  as 
Buddha  did.  A  future  life  is  refused  to  the  yearnings 
of  mankind.  God  is  dethroned,  and  in  his  place  they 
substitute  man,  the  only  being,  we  are  told,  in  which 
the  infinite  becomes  conscious  of  itself.  These  theories 
are  recommended  to  us,  sometimes  in  the  name  of 
science,  or  of  history,  or  of  philology,  and  even  meta- 
physics ;  and  although  they  are  neither  new  nor  very 
original,  yet  they  can  do  much  injury  to  feeble  hearts. 

"This  is  not  the  place  to  examine  such  theories,  and 
the  authors  are  too  sincere  to  be  condemned  without 
discussion,  but  they  should  know,  by  the  example  of 
Buddhism,  what  becomes  of  man  if  he  depends  upon 
himself  alone,  and  if  his  meditations,  misled  by  a 
pride  of  which  he  is  hardly  conscious,  bring  him  to 
the  precipice  where  Buddha  was  lost/'1 

»"Le  Bouddha  et  sa  Religion,"  Par  Barthelemy  Saint-Hilaire,  Membre 
de  1'Institut.  Int.  p.  vlL 


PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  27 

If  such  be  the  opinions,  not  only  of  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  scholars  of  France,  but  of  many 
savants  who  have  devoted  years  of  their  lives  to  the 
scientific  investigation  of  the  subject,  many  will 
wonder  that  the  system  has  attracted  so  much  atten- 
tion in  the  world  of  letters.  But  truth  is  never 
satisfied  without  the  fullest  and  most  critical  investi- 
gation, and  hence  men  like  Burnouf  did  not  shrink 
from  the  task  of  acquiring  a  practical  knowledge  of 
Tibetan,  Pali,  Singhalese  and  Burmese,  as  well  as 
Sanskrit,  in  order  to  qualify  themselves  for  the  work 
of  doing  full  justice  to  the  subject. 

The  translation  of  a  Buddhistic  work  from  Chinese 
into  French  would  seem  comparatively  easy  for  a 
scholar  who  understood  both  languages,  but  M.  Stan- 
islaus Julien,  who  has  long  been  considered  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  Chinese  scholars  of  Europe,  was 
obliged  to  spend  twenty  years  of  hard  work  in  order 
to  prepare  himself  for  the  task. 

Such  are  the  intricacies  of  the  subject,  as  connected 
with  the  various  languages  through  which  it  has 
passed,  that  he  was  compelled  to  acquire  a  working 
knowledge  of  Sanskrit,  and  study  the  Buddhist  litera- 
tures, not  only  in  that  language,  but  also  in  Pali, 
Tibetan,  Mongolian  and  Chinese. 

It  is  such  pioneer  work  as  this  which  prepares  the 
way  for  the  great  host  of  scholars  in  any  department 
of  science  or  letters ;  much  labor  is  performed  by 
the  few  for  the  benefit  of  many,  but  the  results  are 
invaluable.  "  Many  are  the  advantages/'  says  F.  Max 
Miiller,  "to  be  derived  from  a  careful  study  of  other 


28  PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

religions,  but  the  greatest  of  all  is,  that  it  teaches  us 
to  appreciate  more  truly  what  we  have  in  our  own. 
.  .  .  Let  us  see  what  other  nations  have  had,  and 
still  have,  in  the  place  of  religion  —  let  us  examine 
the  prayers,  the  worship,  the  theology,  even  of  the 
most  highly  civilized  races — the  Greeks,  the  Romans, 
the  Hindus,  the  Persians — and  we  shall  then  under- 
stand more  thoroughly  what  blessings  are  vouchsafed 
to  us  in  being  allowed  to  breathe,  from  the  first  breath 
of  life,  the  pure  air  of  Christian  life  and  knowledge. 
We  are  too  apt  to  take  the  greatest  blessings  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  and  even  religion  forms  no  exception.  We 
have  done  so  little  to  gain  our  religion,  we  have  suf- 
fered so  little  in  the  cause  of  truth,  that,  however 
highly  we  prize  our  own  Christianity,  we  never  prize 
it  enough  until  we  have  compared  it  with  the  relig- 
ions of  the  rest  of  the  world."1 

NUMBER    OF    ADHERENTS. 

It  has  been  customary  to  claim  that  "a  majority  of 
the  human  race  believe  in  the  doctrines  of  Buddha," 
and  others,  although  less  sanguine,  are  still  giving 
currency  to  the  statement  that,  out  of  the  fifteen 
hundred  millions  of  the  earth's  inhabitants,  at  least 
five  hundred  millions  are  Buddhists. 

These  incredible  figures  appear  to  be  obtained  by 
calculating  the  entire  population  of  the  countries 
where  the  system  has  a  foothold.  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  that  Buddhism  has  disappeared 
from  India  proper,  although  it  is  still  predominant  in 

i  Max  Miiller,  Chips;  Vol.  I,  p.  180. 


PBIMITIVE   BUDDHISM.  29 

Burmah  and  Ceylon.  Its  strongest  position  is  in  China 
and  Japan,  but  in  China  the  principal  religion  is  Con- 
fucianism. The  best  authorities  upon  this  subject, 
including  Dr.  James  Legge,  the  professor  of  Chinese  at 
Oxford  University,  are  of  the  opinion  that  there  are 
not  more  than  one  hundred  millions  of  real  Buddhists 
in  the  world. 

"I  should  be  surprised,"  says  Professor  Legge,  "if 
it  were  proved  that  there  are  one  hundred  millions  of 
men  in  this  world  who  would  write  down,  or  direct 
another  to  enter,  their  names  as  believers  in  Sakya- 
muni  and  his  doctrines."1 

Although  the  question  of  the  truth  or  falsity  of  a 
position  can  never  be  indicated  by  the  number  of  its 
adherents,  still  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  numer- 
ical strength  of  a  people  in  order  to  ascertain,  to  some 
extent,  the  influence  which  they  exert  in  the  world  of 
thought. 

According  to  the  most  reliable  information  which 
can  be  obtained  concerning  the  present  status  of  the 
principal  religions  of  the  world,  they  rank  in  point  of 
numbers  as  follows  :  Christianity,  Confucianism,  Brah- 
manism  and  Hinduism,2  Buddhism,  Mohammedanism, 
and  lastly  Taoism,  (the  system  of  Lao-tsze).  Jainism, 
Zoroastrianism  and  others  are  too  small  numerically  to 
be  considered  in  this  estimate,3 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Buddhism  occupies 
numerically  the  fourth  rank,  and  although  its  ad- 

1  Trans.  Ninth  International  Congress  of  Orientals.    Vol.  II,  p.  580. 

2  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism   are  practically  one   system,  the  latter 
being  merely  the  expansion  of  the  former. 

3  Williams,  B.,  p.  xv. 


30  PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

hereuts  often  claim  that  their  creed  controls  the 
thought  of  "the  greater  portion  of  the  world's  popu- 
lation," science  must  deal  with  figures  and  not  in 
fanciful  speculations. 

It  is  possible  that  an  exact  census  might  result  in 
some  variation  of  the  above  estimate,  but  we  must 
admit  that  Buddhism  is  gradually  losing  its  hold  on 
the  vast  populations  which  were  once  loyal  to  its  teach- 
ings. It  was  a  blessing  to  India  so  far  as  it  opposed 
Brahmanism,  but  China  had  been,  and  still  is,  to  a 
great  extent,  ruled  by  the  lessons  inculcated  in  her 
ancient  classics,  which  were  formulated  by  Confucius, 
and  hence  Professor  Legge  says :  "  Buddhism  has 
been  in  China  but  a  disturbing  influence,  ministering 
to  the  element  of  superstition  which  plays  so  large  a 
part  in  the  world.  I  am  far  from  saying  the  doctrine 
of  the  literati  is  perfect,  nevertheless,  it  has  kept  the 
people  of  China  together  in  national  union,  passing 
through  many  revolutions,  but  still  enduring,  after  at 
least  four  or  five  millenniums  of  its  existence,  and 
still  not  without  measure  of  heart  and  hope.  Europe 
and  America  can  give  it  something  better  than  India 
did,  in  sending  it  Buddhism  in  our  first  century,  and 
I  hope  they  will  do  so.  You  must  not  look  to  the 
civilization  of  China  and  Japan  for  the  fruits  of  Bud- 
dhism. Go  to  Tibet  and  Mongolia,  and  in  the 
bigotry  and  apathy  of  the  population,  in  their  prayer 
wheels  and  cylinders  you  will  find  the  achievement  of 
the  doctrine  of  Buddha/'1 

i  Trans.  Ninth  International  Congress  of  Orientalists.     Vol.  II,  p.  580. 


CHAPTER  II. 
NUMEROUS  BUDDHAS. 

TWENTY-FOUR  PREDECESSORS  OF  GAUTAMA  •— DIPAN- 
KARA  —  KONDANN  A  —  MANGALA  —  SUMANA— REV  AT  A 
—  SOBHITA  —  THREE  BUDDHAS  —  PADMUTTARA  —  SU- 
MEDHA  —  SUJATA —  VIPASSIN  —  SPHERE  OF  MANIFES- 
TATIONS—  HIGHEST  ACHIEVEMENT. 

A  NY  historic  outline  of  early  Buddhism  must 
•£*•  begin  with  the  life  of  Gautama,  but  the  subject 
cannot  be  approached  in  chronological  order  without 
first  giving  some  attention  to  those  who  are  said  to 
have  preceded  him,  and  in  whose  presence  he  made 
his  resolve. 

We  find  countless  numbers  of  Buddhas  who  appear 
at  intervals  in  a  series  which  has  neither  beginning 
nor  end.  The  development  of  this  endless  chain, 
reaching  back  into  the  immeasurable  past,  requires  so 
many  kalpas1  of  ages  that  the  eons  of  geologic  time 
are  lost  in  comparison. 

i According  to  some  authorities  a  kalpa  is  definitely  stated  as  two 
billion  one  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  years,  while  others  express  its 
duration  as  follows  :  "Let  it  be  supposed  that  a  solid  rock  sixteen  miles 
high,  and  the  same  iu  length  and  breadth,  were  lightly  rubbed  once  in  a 
hundred  years  with  a  piece  of  the  finest  cloth,  and  by  this  slight  friction 
reduced  to  the  size  of  a  mango  seed  — that  would  give  you  no  idea  of  the 
length  of  a  Buddhist  kalpa."—  Williams,  B.,  p  120. 

31 


32  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

Buddha  himself  enumerates  only  eighty-one  prede- 
cessors, beginning  with  Dipankara,1  but  there  is  a 
passage  in  the  Larger  Sukhavati-vyhua  to  the  effect 
that  there  are  "many  hundred  thousands  of  kotis2  of 
Buddhas,  endless  like  the  sand  of  the  Ganges,  the 
incomparable  lords."3 

When  we  consider  that  each  of  these  teachers  must 
pass  through  a  long  series  of  births,  and  can  appear 
only  in  distinct  ages,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  Bud- 
dhist includes  a  countless  number  of  centuries  in  his 
computation  of  time.  Indeed,  he  does  not  count  the 
past  ages  by  centuries,  but  by  kalpas  and  asankheyyas.4 

The  statement  that  a  great  number  of  Buddhas 
appeared  in  the  past  is  sometimes  offered  as  an  ex- 
planation of  the  numberless  changes  in  Buddhism,  and 
the  great  number  of  contradictory  systems  which  are 
taught.  It  is  claimed  that  all  the  conflicting  creeds 
and  ceremonies  are  dim  recollections  or  corruptions  of 
the  law  which  countless  Buddhas  had  preached  in 
countless  ages  before  Gautama,  and  will  continue  to 
preach  in  ages  to  come. 

TWENTY-FOUR    PREDECESSORS   OF   GAUTAMA. 

It  is  said  that  even  during  the  ages  which  elapsed 
after  Gautama  had  formed  a  wish  to  become  a  Bud- 

1  See  the  Larger  Sukhavati-vyhua,  p,  ix. 

2  A  koti  is  explained  as  being  ten  millions. 

3  Sukhavati-vyhua,  4,  6.    See  also  Lalita  Vistara,  chap,  i,  p.  6. 
<Asankheyya  is  a  word   which  conveys   the  idea  of  innumerable   or 

incalculable.  "  If  for  three  years  it  should  rain  incessantly  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  earth,  the  number  of  drops  falling  in  such  a  space  of  time, 
although  far  exceeding  human  conception,  would  only  equal  the  number 
of  years  in  an  asankheyya."— Buchanan,  Asiatic  Res.,  VI. 


NUMEROUS   BUDDHAS.  33 

dha,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  enlight- 
ened ones  appeared,  and  during  this  time  Gautama 
was  born  a  multitude  of  times,  and  he  also  met  many 
of  his  predecessors  during  his  numerous  transmigra- 
tions. But  we  have  no  definite  information  con- 
cerning this  multitude  until  we  come  to  the  last 
twenty-four  who  preceded  him.  Concerning  these, 
however,  we  have  many  particulars  which  are  given  in 
various  standard  works.  One  of  the  oldest  and  most 
highly  valued  of  the  Buddhistic  classics  is  a  work 
called  "The  Jatakas,  or  Birth  Stories."  Indeed,  these 
stories  may  be  safely  considered  the  earliest  authority 
upon  this  subject,  for  Rhys  Davids  says :  "  The  bas 
reliefs  afford  indisputable  evidence  that  the  'Birth 
Stories'  were  already,  at  the  end  of  the  third  century, 
B.  C.f  considered  so  sacred  that  they  were  chosen  as 
the  subjects  to  be  represented  around  the  most  sacred 
Buddhist  buildings."1 

In  this  work  the  name  of  each  of  the  twenty -four 
is  given,  and  also  the  names  of  his  parents,  the  length 
of  his  reign,  the  length  of  his  life,  the  names  of  his 
two  principal  disciples  and  of  his  personal  attendants. 
Even  the  different  trees  under  which  these  teachers 
achieved  supreme  wisdom  are  specified.  We  quote 
briefly  from  this  authority  as  follows: 

DIPANKARA. 

"The  first  of    the  twenty-four  Buddhas  who  pre- 
ceded  Gautama  bore   the    name   of  Dipankara  (Light 
Causer).     This   Buddha   was    'he  of   the    mighty  jaw 
i "Buddhist  Bjrth  Stories,"  p.  11*. 


34  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

and  broad  shoulder/  and  who,  even  at  a  distance  of 
four  thousand  leagues,  awakened  the  people  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth." 

"Eighty  cubits  in  height,  the  great  sage  Dlpankara 
shone  conspicuous  as  a  noble  Sal  tree  in  full  bloom. 
The  tree  under  which  he  achieved  perfection  was  the 
banyan,  and  a  hundred  thousand  years  was  his  age 
.  .  .  having  flamed  like  a  mass  of  fire,  he  died, 
together  with  his  disciples,  and  all  this  power,  this 
glory,  these  jewels  on  his  feet  —  all  is  wholly  gone. 
Are  not  all  existing  things  vanity?"  During  his  reign 
the  Bodhisat,  who  was  afterward  Gautama  Buddha, 
was  a  hermit  having  matted  hair. 


Next  to  Dlpankara  Buddha,  after  the  lapse  of  one 
asankheyya,  the  Teacher  Kon^aflna  appeared.  He  had 
three  assemblies  of  priests,  and  the  first  of  these  num- 
bered a  million  of  millions.  His  tree  was  the  Sal,  and 
his  life  lasted  one  hundred  thousand  years. 

MANGALA. 

The  successor  of  Kon^aflfta  was  Mangala  Buddha, 
and  he  also  had  a  million  millions  of  priests  in  his 
first  assembly,  and  ten  thousand  millions  at  the  second. 
On  account  of  the  great  merit  which  he  acquired  in  a 
former  existence,  the  luster  of  Mangala  Buddha  per- 
manently filled  ten  thousand  worlds,  just  as  the  luster 
of  the  others  extended  to  the  distance  of  a  fathom. 

It  is  said  that  when  he  was  performing  the  duties 
of  a  Bodhisat,  or  future  Buddha,  in  a  former  existence, 


NUMEROUS   BUDDHAS.  35 

he  lived  with  his  wife  and  children  on  a  mountain. 
One  day  a  demon,  named  "sharp  fanged,"  came  to 
him  and  asked  him  for  his  children,  and  such  was  the 
great  benevolence  of  the  Bodhisat  that  he  cheerfully  and 
joyously  gave  them  up.  The  demon,  standing  at  one 
end  of  the  cloistered  walk,  devoured  the  children  like 
a  bunch  of  roots,  while  the  father  looked  contentedly 
on.  Not  a  particle  of  sorrow  arose  in  the  Bodhisat  as 
he  saw  the  mouth  of  the  demon  covered  with  blood, 
but,  instead,  a  great  joy  welled  up  within  him,  as  he 
thought  "my  gift  was  well  given,"  and  he  besought 
the  gods  that,  in  consequence  of  the  great  merit  of  this 
act,  rays  of  light  might  one  day  issue  from  his  body  in 
every  direction.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this,  that  the 
light  emitted  from  his  body  filled  so  large  a  space. 

SUMANA. 

After  Mangala  had  lived  ninety  thousand  years  and 
died,  the  teacher  named  Sumana  appeared.  His  body 
was  ninety  cubits  in  height,  and  he  also  lived  ninety 
thousand  years. 

During  his  reign,  the  Bodhisat,  who  was  afterward 
born  as  Gautama,  was  the  Naga  king,  mighty  and  pow- 
erful. Hearing  that  a  Buddha  had  appeared,  he  left 
the  Naga  world,1  accompanied  by  his  assembled  kins- 
men, and  made  offerings  to  the  Buddha,  whose  retinue 
was  a  million  millions  of  monks,  and  gave  to  each  of 
them  two  garments  of  fine  cloth. 

iThe  Naga  world  was  the  world  of  serpent  demons.  The  lower 
regions  are  supposed  to  be  peopled  with  serpents  having  jewels  in  their 
heads.  Gautama  Buddha  was  born  four  times  as  a  serpent. 


36  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

REV ATA. 

"  After  Sumana  came  the  leader  named  Revata; 
The  Conqueror  unequaled,  incomparable,  unmatched, 
supreme/' 

SOBHITA. 

"After  Revata  came  the  leader  named  Sobhita, 
Subdued  and  mild,  unequaled,  and  unrivaled." 

THREE   BUDDHAS. 

"After  Sobhita,  when  an  asankheyya  had  elapsed, 
three  Buddhas  were  born  in  one  kalpa.  The  first  of 
these  was  Anomadassin,  and  his  height  was  fifty  cubits, 
and  his  age  was  one  hundred  thousand  years." 

The  second  of  the  three  was  named  Paduma,  and 
during  his  reign,  he  who  was  afterward  Gautama,  hav- 
ing been  born  a  lion,1  walked  around  the  teacher  with 
reverence  and  thrice  he  uttered  a  mighty  roar.  For 
seven  days  he  kept  in  attendance  there,  not  seeking 
for  prey.  Then  the  teacher  looked  upon  the  lion  and 
said:  "Hereafter  thou  shalt  become  a  Buddha." 

The  third  Buddha  in  this  kalpa  was  named  Narada, 
and  the  great  crimson  tree  was  his  Bo-tree.  At  this 
time,  he  who  was  afterward  Gautama,  gave  a  great 
donation  to  the  Order  and  made  an  offering  of  sandal 
wood. 

After  the  three  Buddhas  had  been  born  in  one 
kalpa,  the  next  great  teacher  was  Padmuttara,  who 
was  succeeded  by  Sumedha. 

I  Gautama  Buddha  was  born  ten  times  as  a  lion. 


NUMEROUS    BUDDHAS.  37 

"Then  was  born  the  leader  Sujata,  mighty  jawed 
and  grandly  framed,  whose  measure  none  can  take/' 

After  him,  when  eighteen  hundred  world  cycles  had 
passed  away,  three  Buddhas  were  again  born  in  one 
kalpa.  In  the  following  era  there  was  only  one,  whose 
name  was  Siddhata,  and  then  two  Buddhas  again  ap- 
peared in  one  kalpa. 


After  these,  ninety  world  cycles  ago,  there  appeared 
the  Blessed  One  named  Vipassin.  He,  like  all  the 
others,  had  three  assemblies  of  priests,  and  at  the  first 
there  were  six  million  and  eight  hundred  thousand 
monks  present.  He  was  eighty  cubits  in  height,  and 
the  effulgence  of  his  body  always  reached  a  hundred 
leagues.  His  age  was  one  hundred  thousand  years. 
During  the  reign  of  Vipassin,  he  who  was  afterward 
Gautama,  having  been  born  as  a  powerful  snake  king, 
gave  to  the  Blessed  One  a  golden  chair.  He  then  re- 
ceived the  promise  that  in  ninety-one  world  cycles  he 
should  become  a  Buddha. 

After  Vipassin  came  five  others,  and  then  the 
present  supreme  Buddha.  l 

In  the  inscription  upon  the  great  bell  at  Eagnun 
it  is  stated  that  with  the  eight  hairs  of  Gautama 
enshrined  in  the  dagoba  of  the  temple,  there  are  also 
"the  three  divine  relics  of  the  three  deities  who  were 
his  immediate  predecessors."  And  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  era  there  was  certainly  a  sect  of 
Buddhists  near  to  Sravasti  who  rejected  Gautama, 

i"  Buddhist  Birth  Stories,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  29-55. 


38  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

reverencing  only  the  three  preceding  Buddhas,  espe- 
cially one  whose  body  they  believed  to  be  buried  under 
one  of  the  dagobas,  at  which  they,  as  well  as  the 
orthodox  Buddhists,  worshiped. l 

SPHERE    OF    MANIFESTATION'S. 

Having  briefly  sketched  a  few  outlines  pertaining  to 
the  predecessors  of  Gautama,  the  sphere  of  the  mani- 
festation of  each  Buddha  follows  as  a  natural  sequence. 
In  the  Tri-pitaka,  or  sacred  canon  of  the  Buddhists, 
there  is  a  treatise  which  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
works  in  Japan.2  One  of  their  great  scholars  asserts 
that  "it  is  a  very  able  exposition  and  defense  of  Bud- 
dhism."3 From  this  standard  work  we  quote  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  According  to  the  teaching  of  Buddhism,  when  a 
Buddha  comes  forth  to  his  manifestation  three  great 
chiliocosms  constitute  the  sphere  of  his  successful 
operation.  Let  us  speak  of  it  in  one  of  those  worlds. 
In  the  midst  of  every  world  there  is  a  great  Sumeru 
mountain  rising  in  the  great  ocean  and  ascending 
above  nine  tiers  of  the  sky.  Round  the  waist  of  this 
mountain  revolve  the  sun  and  moon,  separating  the 
day  and  night.  On  the  four  sides  of  Sumeru  are  four 
continents.  .  .  .  Above  the  Sumeru  is  what  we 
call  the  Deva-loka  of  the  four  kings.  Above  this  is 
the  Deva-loka  of  Shakra.  Higher  still  ...  are 

iRhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  181. 

2  "  A  Fair  and  Dispassionate  Discussion  of  the  Three  Doctrines  Accepted 
in  China,"  by  Liu  Mi,  a  Buddhist  writer.    Bunyiu  Nanjio,  in  his  catalogue 
of  the  Tri-pitaka,  enters  this  work  as  No.  1,643,  and  adds  that  the  author  was 
of  the  Yuan  dynasty. 

3  Mr.  Nanjio  in  conversation  with  Professor  Legge. 


NUMEROUS   BUDDHAS.  39 

the  four  Deva-lokas,  having  the  general  name  of 
'  Regions  of  Desire/  Still  higher  are  the  eighteen 
Deva-lokas,  having  the  name  of  '  Regions  of  Form/ 
Higher  still  are  the  'Regions  Without  Form.'  All 
living  beings  in  these  regions  are  subject  to  birth,  old 
age  and  death. 

Such  is  the  account  of  one  world,  and  a  thousand 
worlds  are  called  a  small  chiliocosm,  and  a  thousand 
such  small  chiliocosms  are  called  a  medium  one.  A 
thousand  of  these  are  called  a  great  chiliocosm,  com- 
prising ten  million  worlds.  The  thousand  of  these 
being  taken  three  times  form  only  one  great  chilio- 
universe.  This  is  the  sphere  of  the  successful  oper- 
ation of  one  Buddha.  In  this  way  there  are  ten 
thousand  million  Buddhas,  each  assigned  to  his  own 
material  region,  and  they  proceed  to  transform  and 
deliver  the  ten  thousand  million  worlds  till  all  that 
are  in  them,  produced  from  the  womb,  from  eggs  or 
from  water,  with  feet  or  without  feet,  with  form  or 
without  form,  with  thought  or  without  thought,  and 
even  those  who  have  never  approximated  thought — all 
are  carried  across  to  Nirvana."1 

THti   HIGHEST  ACHIEVEMENT   OF   BUDDHISM. 

The  same  learned  author  also  points  out  the 
highest  achievement  as  follows:  "Therefore,  the 
learners  of  Buddhism  know  the  emptiness  (and  vanity) 
of  all  the  Skandhas  —  the  constituent  elements,  that 

i  This  extract  has  necessarily  been  greatly  condensed.  See  the  translation 
of  Dr.  James  Legge,  professor  of  Chinese  in  Oxford  University.—  Trans. 
Ninth  International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  Vol.  //.,  p.  571. 


40  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

is,  every  personality.  .  .  .  Amidst  their  practice 
of  the  rules  of  doctriiie  they  will  forget  themselves 
for  the  sake  of  other  creatures,  as  when  Sakya-muni 
endured  the  pain  and  cut  off  a  piece  of  his  flesh  to 
feed  the  hawk,  or  as  when  he  gave  his  body  to  feed 
the  famished  tigress,  and  that  without  fright  or  appre- 
hension. His  money,  pearls,  treasures  —  his  kingdom, 
wife,  and  son — he  threw  away  as  he  would  a  worn-out 
shoe.  From  life  to  life,  through  hundreds,  thousands, 
myriads  and  lakhs  of  kalpas,  this  mind  underwent  no 
change.  From  kalpa  to  kalpa,  through  hundreds, 
thousands  and  lakhs  of  kalpas,  this  mind  became 
more  earnest  and  resolute. 

"This  is  the  highest  achievement  of  Buddhism  — 
here  it  stops.  The  Sutra  of  the  Lotus  of  the  law  says 
'the  Tathagata  is  the  greatest  instance  of  cause  and 
effect/  Therefore,  when  one  comes  forth  and  is  mani- 
fested in  the  world,  he  wishes  to  cause  all  living 
beings  to  arrive  at  the  same  result  as  himself,  for  he 
has  sworn  that  all  possessed  of  an  active,  intelligent 
nature  shall,  with  himself,  arrive  at  the  unsurpassable 
consummation  of  Nirvana."1 

We  have  seen,  therefore,  that  the  standard  authori- 
ties of  Buddhism  are  very  positive  in  their  declaration 
that  a  countless  number  of  Buddhas  appeared  before 
Gautama,  and  the  chronicles  furnish  the  names  and 
many  other  particulars  concerning  some  of  them.  And 
not  only  this,  but  they  furnish  a  full  exposition  of  the 
vastness  of  the  system  in  teaching  that  "millions  of 

iLegge's  Translation.— Trans.   Ninth  Congress  of  Orientalists,   Vol.    II, 

pp.  571-574. 


NUMEROUS   BUDDHAS.  41 

worlds"  constitute  the  sphere  of  the  successful  opera- 
tion of  one  Buddha/'  We  have  seen,  also,  the  highest 
achievement  of  Buddhism,  which  is  the  absorption, 
not  only  of  the  millions  of  Buddhas,  but  also  of  the 
millions  of  worlds  and  all  the  life  that  they  contain, 
into  the  bosom  of  "the  formless  and  void"  — the 
Nirvana. 


CHAPTER  III. 
BUDDHISTIC  ACCOUNT  OF  GAUTAMA  BUDDHA. 

THE  LALITA  VISTAEA  —  THE  JATAKA  —  BIRTH  OF  GAU- 
TAMA —  PHYSICAL  SIGNS  OF  A  BUDDHA  —  HIS  MAN- 
HOOD —  THE  FOUR  VISIONS  —  GREAT  RENUNCIATION 

—  THE    ESCAPE  —  GREAT    TEMPTATION  —  ATTAINMENT 
OF   BUDDHAHOOD  —  FIRST   CONVERTS  —  RETURN   HOME 

—  FIRST    MONASTERY. 


AUTAMA  is  represented  as  being  the  fourth 
Buddha  in  the  present  cycle  of  time,  and  there 
are  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  procuring  an  ac- 
count of  his  life  which  shall  be  truly  historic. 

First,  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that,  while  the  people 
of  India  are  poetic  and  some  of  their  literature  is 
very  beautiful,  still  they  seem  to  be  entirely  deficient 
in  what  is  termed  "the  historic  sense,"  and  hence 
there  is  scarcely  anything  in  their  annals  which  can 
be  called  history. 

Again,  it  is  well  understood  that  nothing  was  writ- 
ten in  relation  to  Gautama  until  hundreds  of  years 
after  his  death,  the  statements  concerning  his  life  and 
teachings  having  been  handed  down  orally  for  a  long 
time.  "After  the  Nirvana  of  Buddha,"  says  the  Sara- 
sagraha,  "for  the  space  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  years 
the  text  and  commentaries,  and  all  the  works  of 

42 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  43 

Tathagata,  were  preserved  and  transmitted,  by  wise 
priests,  orally."1  If  this  be  true,  and  Sir  M.  Monier- 
Williams  is  correct  concerning  the  date  of  Buddha's 
death,2  it  shows  that  all  the  manuscripts  on  this  sub- 
ject belong  to  the  Christian  era. 

The  Buddhists  claim  that  their  first  books  were 
written  in  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century  before 
Christ,3  but  concerning  the  older  portions  of  the  Pali 
texts,  Professor  Oldenberg,  the  eminent  Pali  scholar, 
says  :  "  They  contain  neither  a  biography  of  Buddha 
nor  the  slightest  trace  of  the  former  existence  of  any 
such  work."4 

We  have,  indeed,  the  "  Book  of  the  Great  Decease," 
which  is  supposed  to  belong  to  an  early  date,  but  it 
treats  merely  of  the  incidents  connected  with  his  death, 
or  shortly  preceding  it.  And  we  have,  too,  the  Maha- 
vagga  (although  its  age  is  disputed),  which  contains  an 
account  of  the  first  events  after  Gautama's  attainment 
of  Buddhahood,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  "any 
really  historical,  matter-of-fact  life  of  Buddha,  like  that 
of  the  life  of  Christ  by  the  four  Evangelists,  may  be 
looked  for  in  vain  in  all  the  Buddhist  scriptures.  The 
Buddha's  biography  is  mixed  up  with  such  monstrous 
legends,  absurd  figments  and  extravagant  fables  that 
to  attempt  the  sifting  out  of  any  really  historical  ele- 
ment, worthy  of  being  compared  with  the  pregnant 

i  Sara-sagraha,  quoted  by  Max  Miiller.    See  Science  of  Rel.,  note  to  p.  16. 

a  Williams  gives  420  B.  C.  "as  a  round  number,"  while  Kern  makes  it 
still  later,  giving  388  as  the  most  probable  date. 

3Sa.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  X.  Int.  p.  xxv.  See  also  the  Mahavansa,  p.  287,  and 
the  Dipavamsa,  Ch.  XIX,  XX. 

*Ol(lenberg.  "Buddha,  sein  Leben,  seine  Lehre,  seine  Gemeinde," 
S.  78. 


44  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

simplicity,   the  dignified    brevity,  of  the    biography  of 
Christ,  would  be  an  idle  task."1 

All  the  biographies  which  we  have  of  him  are 
necessarily  derived  from  native  sources ;  we  must,  there- 
fore, appeal  to  the  earliest  Buddhistic  documents 
obtainable,  and  draw  the  story  of  his  life  from  the 
works  which  hold  the  highest  position  in  the  opinion 
of  his  followers. 

THE    LALITA   VISTABA. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  early 
works,  as  it  is  a  standard  authority  with  the  Northern 
Buddhists,  and  is  the  eighth  of  the  series  called  the 
"  Nine  Dhammas."  Concerning  the  age  of  this  work, 
however,  there  is  a  wide  difference  of  opinion,  and  so 
many  conjectures  have  been  made  that,  perhaps,  it  is 
only  safe  to  say  that  it  is  a  poem  of  unknown  author- 
ship and  chronology. 

The  native  scholar,  Rajendralala  Mitra  (who  pub- 
lished the  work  in  Sanskrit,  and  who  has  also  given 
us  an  English  version  of  a  portion  of  it),  says  in  ref- 
erence to  the  date  of  its  origin.  "We  have  nothing 
more  positive  than  inference  founded  upon  insufficient 
conjecture."2 

T.  W.  Khys  Davids  remarks  that  "it  is  a  poem 
of  unknown  date  and  authorship,  but  probably  com- 
posed in  Nepal,  by  some  Buddhist  poet,  who  lived 
between  six  hundred  and  a  thousand  years  after  the 
death  of  Buddha."3 

i  Williams,  B.,  p.  553. 

2Lalita  Vistara.    Int.  p.  48  (Bibliotheca  Indica). 

s  «•  Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion  "  (Hibbert  Lectures,  1881),  p  197. 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  45 

M.  Foucaux  has  published  a  French  translation  of 
this  work  from  the  Tibetan  version,  which  he  claims 
existed  in  the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  He 
also  assigns  the  Sanskrit  original  to  the  Council  of 
King  Kanishka,1  whose  reign  was  during  the  first 
century  of  our  era,  but  Rhys  Davids  declares  that 
"he  does  this  without  any  evidence  whatever."2  Sir 
M.  Monier- Williams  thinks  that  it  may  be  as  old  as 
the  second  century  of  our  era.3 

We  shall  be  compelled  to  refer  to  it  occasionally, 
as  it  is  one  of  the  most  popular  works  of  the  Bud- 
dhists, and  forms  a  portion  of  their  sacred  canon,  but, 
fortunately,  we  have  an  earlier  standard  authority  called 

THE    JATAKA. 

The  date  of  this  work  also  is  undecided,  but  Rhys 
Davids  supposes  that  "the  rise  of  our  Jataka  book 
was  due  to  the  religious  faith  of  the  Indian  Buddhists 
of  the  third  and  fourth  century  before  Christ,"  the 
statements  therein  contained  having  been  handed  down 
orally  from  time  to  time  until  they  were  committed  to 
writing. 

If  this  be  true,  we  here  get  very  near  to  the  primi- 
tive faith  of  the  Buddhists  in  relation  to  the  subject 
under  consideration. 


i  Kanishka  was  the  third  of  three  brothers,  who  began  to  reign  in  the 
first  century  after  Christ,  and  he  was  a  very  zealous  Buddhist.  He  called  a 
council  of  five  hundred  monks,  but  unfortunately  nothing  was  done  toward 
settling  the  canon,  as  the  monks  satisfied  themselves  with  the  drawing  up 
of  three  commentaries. 

»Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  2.  For  other  opinions  on  this  subject  see  Senart, 
p.  496,  and  Freer,  Journal  Asiatique,  1886,  p.  275,  and  others. 

3  Williams,  B.,  p.  70. 


46  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM 

Although  it  is  briefly  called  the  Jataka  Book,  its 
full  title  is  "  The  Commentary  on  the  Jatakas,"  as  it 
not  only  contains  the  stories  of  previous  births,  but 
also  an  explanation  of  the  verses  which  occur  in  each 
story.  It  contains,  too,  an  introduction  to  each  of 
them,  giving  the  occasion  on  which  they  are  said  to 
have  been  told. 

The  first  part  of  this  commentary  contains  the  life 
of  Gautama  down  to  the  time  when  he  revisited  his 
home,  after  his  appearance  as  a  public  teacher.  "And 
down  to  that  time/5  says  Rhys  Davids,  "it  is  the  best 
authority  we  have."1 

The  book  opens  with  the  following  statement : 
"The  Apannaka  and  other  births  which,  in  times 
gone  by,  were  recounted  on  various  occasions  by  the 
illustrious  sage  (Gautama)  .  .  .  were  all  collected 
together,  and  added  to  the  canon  of  the  scriptures 
by  those  who  made  the  recension  of  the  scriptures, 
and  rehearsed  them  under  the  name  of  Jataka/'2 

This  being  the  best  authority  we  have,  we  condense 
the  following  from  the  Jataka,  except  where  credit  is 
given  to  the  Lalita  Vistara,  the  Buddha- karita, 3  or 
other  popular  authorities. 

THE    BIRTH  OF   GAUTAMA. 

"For  an  infinite  number  of  years  the  Bodhisat  had 
steadfastly  desired  to  become  a  Buddha.  It  was  for 

1  Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  13.    This  author  claims  that  the  original  Pali  text  of 
this  commentary  was  committed  to  writing  in  Ceylon,  probably  about  the 
middle  of  the  fifth  century  of  our  era. 

2  The  Nidanakatha,  p.  1. 

3  The  Buddha-karita  is  assigned  to  the  first  century  after  Christ.— /Sto.  Bks, 
of  the  East,  Vol.  XltX,  Int.  p.  i. 


GAUTAMA    BUDDHA.  47 

this  that  he  persisted  in  enduring  toil,  trouble  and 
pain  —  for  this  he  bore  the  miseries  of  life  through  an 
unaccountable  number  of  transmigrations,  and  no  suf- 
fering ever  turned  his  thoughts  from  his  one  great 
object — the  Buddhahood.  He  cut  off  portions  of  his 
flesh  and  gave  them  in  alms  so  many  times  that,  if 
they  were  collected,  the  various  portions  thus  given 
would  make  a  mass  larger  than  this  world.  He 
poured  out  his  blood  in  alms  more  than  there  is  water 
in  the  great  ocean.  He  gave  his  head  so  many  times 
that  the  heap  would  be  higher  than  the  mightiest  of 
mountains.  He  gave  his  eyes  more  times  than  there 
are  stars  in  the  skies.  He  also  gave  his  children  to  be 
slaves,  and  gave  his  wife  away  to  a  Brahman."1 

It  was  in  consequence  of  these  great  acts  of  merit 
that  he  became  a  Buddha,  and  when  the  proper  time 
arrived  he  entered  the  womb  of  his  mother  "in  the 
form  of  an  elephant,  of  a  yellowish  white  color,  having 
six  tusks,"  and  the  mother  also  dreamed  that  she  saw 
him  thus  enter  her  body. 2 

When  he  was  born  into  this  world  the  angels 
received  him  in  a  golden  net,  and  from  their  hands 
four  kings  received  him  on  a  cloth  of  antelope  skins, 
soft  to  the  touch,  such  as  are  used  on  occasions  of 
royal  state.  .  .  .  Searching  in  ten  directions,  and 
finding  no  one  like  himself,  he  took  seven  strides, 
saying,  "  This  is  the  best  direction,"  and  as  he  walked 
the  Archangel  Brahma  held  over  him  the  white  um- 
brella, and  the  Archangel  Suyama  followed  him  with 

i  Pathoma  Sompothiyan,  p.  89. 

aTheLalita  Vistara,  the  Buddha-karita  and  other  works  give  this  as  an 
actual  fact,  some  of  them  relating  the  dream  also,  while  other  authors  only 
relate  the  story  of  the  dream. 


48  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

the  fan,  and  other  deities  with  other  symbols  of  roy- 
alty in  their  hands.  Then  stopping  at  the  seventh 
step,  he  sent  forth  his  noble  voice,  and  shouted :  "  I 
am  the  chief  of  the  world/'1 

PHYSICAL  SIGNS  OF   A   BUDDHA. 

Many  authorities  tell  us  that  Buddha  was  born 
with  certain  peculiarities  of  person,  which,  according 
to  Vedic  tradition,  indicated  that  a  man  would  become 
either  a  supreme  emperor  of  the  world,  or  a  supreme 
teacher.  There  are  thirty-two  of  the  principal  pecu- 
liarities and  eighty  secondary  characteristics,  which 
are  found  in  various  Buddhistic  works  of  compara- 
tively early  date.  The  tradition  of  a  representation  of 
the  wheel  (Cakra),  which  is  said  to  have  existed  on 
the  sole  of  his  foot,  is  confirmed  as  an  ancient  idea 
by  the  sculptures  which  formerly  adorned  the  topes, 
or  holy  relic  mounds  of  Sanchi  and  Amravatti  in 
India.  The  remains  of  these  ancient  sculptures  furnish 
ample  proof  of  the  faith  of  the  early  Buddhists  in 
these  peculiar  marks. 

It  is  said  that  even  from  childhood  the  body  of 
Buddha  was  marked  with  all  the  signs  of  eminence. 
"The  soles  of  his  feet  are  full  fleshed  and  perfectly 
flat,  like  golden  sandals.  They  move,  not  like  the  feet 
of  an  ordinary  mortal,  but  they  both  touch  the 
ground  and  leave  it  at  the  same  time.  On  each  of 
his  feet  is  a  figure  of  the  beautiful  Cakra,  with  its 
thousand  rays  or  spokes,  and  around  it  are  one.hun- 

i  The  Lalita  Vistara  puts  much  more  to  the  same  effect  into  the  speech  of 
the  newly  born  babe.  See  the  version  of  Rajendralala,  chap,  vii,  p.  195.  See 
&lso  Buddha-karita,  I.  40, 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  49 

dred  and  eight  other  figures,  which  appear  as  a  guard 
of  honor  around  that  most  excellent  sign.  The  heel 
of  the  prince  is  not  like  that  of  other  men,  but  long 
and  projecting.  It  is  smooth  and  round  as  a  ball  of 
thread,  and  excels  in  beauty  the  heel  of  any  other 
being.  This  extraordinary  length  of  heel  is  one  of 
the  signs  of  a  Grand  Being,  the  length  of  his  fingers 
and  toes  is  another.  His  feet  are  not  jointed  to  the 
ankle  in  the  usual  manner,  but  the  ankle  rises  from 
the  center  of  the  foot,  and  is  so  formed  that,  without 
the  trouble  of  moving  his  feet,  he  can  turn  his  whole 
body  in  any  direction  he  pleases.  His  knees  are 
round,  full  and  fleshy,  with  the  bone  in  the  center. 
His  arms  are  so  long  that  he  can,  without  stooping, 
touch  his  knees  with  his  hands.  His  skin  is  perfect ; 
his  glossy  black  hairs  grow  one  by  one,  curling  up- 
ward. Between  his  shoulders  there  is  no  depression ; 
his  arms  are  round  and  smooth.  His  back  has  no 
depression  in  the  center,  but  is  flat  as  a  golden  plank. 
He  has  about  seven  thousand  nerves  of  taste  converg- 
ing at  the  throat,  by  means  of  which  he  has  the 
sensation  of  taste  all  over  the  body.  His  jaw  is  like 
that  of  a  lion ;  he  has  forty  teeth,  even  and  perfect 
as  a  row  of  gems.  He  has  four  canine  teeth,  or 
tusks,  white,  and  gleaming  like  planets.  His  tongue 
is  soft  and  flexible,  and  long  enough  to  reach  his  fore- 
head. On  his  forehead,  between  his  eyebrows,  is  a 
spiral  tuft  of  long  white  hairs  turning  to  the  right. 
These  are  the  signs  of  the  Grand  Being."1 

iPathoma  Sompothiya.  pp.  110,  115.  Lalita  Vistara,  chap,  vii,  p.  42  (Ra- 
jendralala  Mitra's  Trans.)  Also  Buddha-karita,  Bk.  I,  65.  Also  the 
Pujawaliya. 


50  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

M.  Burnouf  treats  these  signs  very  fully ;  they 
interested  him  in  two  ways ;  he  understood  that  they 
illustrated  the  authenticity  of  Buddhist  classics,  evi- 
denced by  the  concurrence  of  the  records  of  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Buddhists,  and  also  considered 
that  they  showed  the  race  to  which  Buddha  belonged, 
some  early  investigators  having  supposed  that  he  was 
a  negro,  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  idols  repre- 
sented him  as  having  woolly  hair. l 

HIS   MANHOOD. 

When  the  Bodhisat  reached  the  age  at  which  it  was 
thought  best  to  choose  his  wives,  all  the  most  beautiful 
girls  in  the  kingdom  were  assembled  for  his  inspection. 
One  lovely  girl,  named  Gopa  (elsewhere  called  Yaso- 
dhara),2  came  in  last,  and  he  at  once  gave  her  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  rings  and  bracelets.  The  king's 
agents  were  at  once  sent  to  the  girl's  father  to  demand 
her  hand  in  marriage  for  the  son.  But  the  father  re- 
plied:  "The  young  man  has  lived  in  luxury  and  sloth, 
and  my  family  give  their  daughters  only  to  men  of 
strength  and  courage  —  to  those  who  can  wrestle,  play 
the  bow  and  wield  the  sword/' 

Other  Sakya  families  made  a  similar  reply,  saying : 
"Our  daughters  refuse  to  come  near  a  young  milk- 
sop." Then  a  day  was  appointed  on  which  the  young 
man  should  show  his  skill  in  athletics. 

When  the  appointed  day  arrived,  a  vast  crowd  was 

l  M.  Burnouf,  App.  Lotus  de  la  bonne  Loi. 

2 "Her  name,"  says  Oldenberg,  "seems  to  have  been  unknown  to  the 
ancient  church.  Copious  inventions  of  later  times  first  filled  up  these  gaps 
in  various  ways."— Oldenberg,  "Buddhism."  n.  p.  101. 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  53 

assembled  outside  the  city,  and  Gautama  distanced  q£r» 
competitors  in  swimming,  jumping,  running  and  wrest- 
ling. Then  came  the  test  of  archery,  and  Ananda 
set  up  a  drum,  eight  miles  distant,  for  a  target; 
another  set  up  one  at  a  distance  of  sixteen  and 
another  at  twenty-four  miles,  while  the  father  of 
Yasodhara  set  up  another  at  a  still  greater  distance, 
and  by  this  drum  stood  seven  palm  trees,  and  beyond 
them  was  a  demon  made  of  iron. 

After  the  others  had  tried  their  skill,  Gautama  ad- 
justed his  arrow,  and  his  shaft  passed  through  the  first 
iron  drum,  only  eight  miles  away,  then  through  the 
one  which  stood  sixteen  miles  away,  and  thence 
through  the  one  which  stood  twenty-four  miles  away ; 
then  passed  through  the  fourth,  which  was  still  farther 
away,  tearing  also  through  the  seven  trees  and  the 
iron  demon,  and  then  buried  itself  in  the  ground. 

When  he  had  also  proven  his  superiority  in  riding 
horses  and  elephants,  in  kicking  and  other  sports,  as 
well  as  in  music,  painting,  poetry,  dancing  and  simi- 
lar accomplishments,  the  beautiful  girl  was  given  him. 
It  is  said  that  sixty  thousand  girls  also  entered  his 
household,  but  Yasodhara  remained  the  chief,  and  she 
became  the  mother  of  his  son,  Rahula.1 

The  king  then  built  three  palaces  for  him,  one  for 
each  season  of  the  year,  and  in  these  he  was  constantly 
surrounded  by  his  young  wives,  who  danced  and  sang 
and  played  upon  many  instruments,  and  he  enjoyed 
all  the  pleasures  of  life. 

i  Lalita  Vistara,  Chap,  viii,  p.  m  (Rajeudralala's  version). 


50  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

THE    FOUR    VISIONS. 

One  day  the  future  Buddha  wished  to  go  to  a 
pleasure  ground,  and,  ascending  his  chariot,  he  went 
toward  the  garden.  Then  the  angels  thought  "the 
time  for  his  enlightenment  is  near,  let  us  show  him 
the  omens."  Accordingly  they  caused  him  to  see  a 
man  wasted  by  age.  And  the  Bodhisat  asked  his 
charioteer  what  manner  of  man  it  was  ?  On  being 
told  that  old  age  awaited  every  human  being,  he  re- 
turned in  agitation  to  the  palace. 

Again  in  going  to  the  pleasure  grounds,  he  saw  a 
sick  man,  and  learned  that  disease,  too,  was  the  com- 
mon lot  of  humanity,  and  again  he  returned  home. 

Afterward,  he  saw  a  dead  man,  and  learning  that 
death,  also,  came  to  all,  he  returned  in  still  greater 
anxiety  to  the  palace. 

Still  later,  as  the  future  Buddha  was  going  out,  he 
saw  a  man  who  had  abandoned  the  world,  and  he 
asked  his  charioteer  what  kind  of  a  man  it  was  who 
appeared  so  strangely?  "That,"  replied  the  servant, 
"is  a  mendicant  friar,"  and  he  then  described  the 
advantages  of  renouncing  the  world.  .  .  .  And 
that  day  the  future  Buddha,  cherishing  the  thought 
of  renunciation,  went  to  the  pleasure  grounds. 

THE    GREAT   RENUNCIATION. 

The  Bodhisat  after  returning  to  his  palace  reclined 
on  his  couch,  while  the  women,  clad  in  beautiful  array, 
brought  their  musical  instruments,  and  danced  and 
sang  until  he  fell  asleep.  Then  they  laid  aside  their 
instruments,  and  lying  down  they  fell  asleep  also. 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  53 

The  Bodhisat  on  waking  saw  them  in  disorder, 
some  grinding  their  teeth  and  some  yawning  and  mut- 
tering in  their  sleep.  Others  had  their  beauty  distorted 
in  other  ways,  and  seeing  this  great  change  in  their 
appearance  he  became  more  and  more  disgusted.1  To 
him  the  apartment  seemed  like  a  charnel  house,  and 
he  exclaimed  :  "  Of  a  verity,  I  am  in  a  graveyard  I " 
and,  his  mind  turning  toward  those  who  had  re- 
nounced the  world,  he  resolved  that  very  day  to  follow 
their  example. 

Then  calling  his  servant,  Channa,  he  ordered  his 
horse  to  be  saddled,  and  while  he  was  gone  the 
Bodhisat  went  to  the  door  of  his  wife's  chamber  to 
look  upon  his  child.  He  saw  her  sleeping  upon  a  bed 
covered  with  jasmine  flowers,  and  resting  her  hand  on 
the  head  of  the  child.  Fearing  to  waken  her  he  did 
not  touch  the  boy,  but  said  to  himself,  "I  will  come 
back  and  see  him  after  I  have  become  a  Buddha/'2 
and  he  left  the  room. 

THE    ESCAPE. 

The  horse  that  was  saddled  that  night  was  the 
splendid  Kanthaka ;  he  is  represented  as  being  thirty 
feet  in  length  —  his  coat  white  and  lustrous  as  a  well 
polished  conch  shell,  and  his  head  black  as  the  black 
sapphire.  "  Help  me,  0  Kanthaka !  to  enter  the 

i  Modern  poets  have  violated  the  Buddhist  accounts  in  painting  this 
revolting  picture  in  very  different  colors.  The  Lalita  Vistara,  the  Buddha- 
karita  and  other  standard  works  give  vivid  descriptions  of  a  scene  which  is 
here  so  lightly  touched.  Some  authors  claim  that  the  effect  upon  his  vision 
was  produced  by  the  gods. 

a  The  Maha-vagga  gives  no  account  whatevei  of  his  home-leaving,  and 
perhaps  there  is  no  historic  basis  for  either  of  these  pictures. 


54  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

class  of  mendicants  this  very  night/'  exclaimed  Gau- 
tama, and  the  horse  neighed  with  delight. 

He  then  mounted,  and  while  Channa  held  on  to  the 
tail  of  the  animal  the  four  guardians  of  the  world 
held  lotus  flowers,  one  under  each  of  the  horse's  feet. 
The  gates  were  opened  by  unseen  hands,  and  Gautama 
went  on  his  way,  with  angels  in  front  of  him,  carry- 
ing sixty  thousand  torches,  while  others  were  behind 
him,  and  still  others  were  upon  either  hand. 

Advancing  thus  he  passed  that  night  beyond  three 
kingdoms,  and  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  river 
which  was  thirty  leagues  away.  He  would  have 
gone  farther,  but  the  horse  could  not  make  his  way 
through  the  mass  of  flowers,  of  winged  creatures 
and  snakes,  which  were  showered  down  from  Indra's 
heaven  in  honor  of  Gautama's  departure.  At  the  bank 
of  the  river  he  signaled  his  horse,  and  Kanthaka 
immediately  sprang  over  it  to  the  opposite  bank,  five 
or  six  hundred  yards  away.  It  was  here  that  he  dis- 
missed his  servant,  and  bade  him  take  the  horse  and 
return. 

Some  of  the  Buddhistic  standard  works  describe  a 
terrible  scene  at  the  palace  when  it  was  discovered 
that  Gautama  had  fled.  The  king  was  beside  himself 
with  grief,  and  his  wife  threw  herself  on  the  ground 
in  despair.  The  other  women  beat  themselves  and 
sobbed,  crying  out,  "Where  is  our  husband?" 

When  Channa  returned  with  the  horse,  poor  Yaso- 
dhara  suddenly  recovered  a  little  strength,  and  throw- 
ing her  arms  around  the  neck  of  the  horse,  she 
exclaimed  : 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  55 

u  Alone,  on  my  bed,  where  he  was  sleeping  by  my  side, 

I  found  myself. 
He  had  abandoned  me  ! 

Kanthaka,  good  horse,  whither  didst  thou  take  him  ? 
Chandaka,  pitiless  !     Why  didst  thou  not  awaken  me  ? 
Chandaka,  fathers  and  mothers  are  honored  by  all, 
Why,  then,  should  a  wife  be  abandoned  ? 
Henceforth,  I  feel  I  cannot  eat  or  drink  ! 
My  hair  shall  grow  vile  and  matted  ! 
An  unblest  thing   is  the  forcible  parting  of  a  man 

and  a  woman  who  love  ! " 

THE    GREAT    TEMPTATION. 

The  story  of  the  great  temptation  with  which  Mara 
assailed  Gautama  under  the  Bo-tree  appears  to  be  one 
of  the  many  additions  which  have  been  made  to  the 
legend  by  later  hands.  "  Wherever  in  the  sacred  Pali 
texts/'  says  Oldenberg,"  the  attainment  of  Buddhahood 
is  described,  there  is  not  a  word  spoken  of  Mara."1  A 
few  passages  in  the  text  narrate  distinct  encounters 
with  Mara ;  sometimes  they  refer  to  a  time  not  long 
before  and  sometimes  to  a  time  not  long  after 
the  attainment  of  Buddhahood,  but  not  here. 
The  Lalita  Vistara,  however,  gives  an  eloquent  de- 
scription of  the  contest  of  Gautama  with  the  hosts  of 
evil  after  passing  six  weeks  in  exhaustive  asceticism. 

"Seated  cross-legged  beneath  the  Bo-tree,  he  pro- 
nounced this  vow :  '  Here,  on  this  seat,  may  my  body 

i Oldenberg,  "Buddha,  sein  Leben,  seine  Lehre,  seine  Gemeinde" 
(Hoey's  Trans.),  p.  85. 


56  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

dry  up,  and  my  flesh  dissolve,  if  I  raise  myself  from 
this  seat  before  I  attain  the  Bodhi.' 

"The  Wicked  One  commanded  Gautama  to  leave 
the  tree  and  speak  to  him.  Upon  his  refusal  to  do 
so,  the  Evil  One  drew  his  sword  from  its  scabbard, 
and  called  out :  '  Rise  up,  as  I  order.  Obey  me,  or, 
like  a  garden  weed,  be  cut  in  pieces ! '  •  At  the  same 
time  spirits  of  darkness  hurled  mountains  of  flames 
and  mighty  trees  at  the  Bodhisat.  Globes  of  fire 
darted  through  the  air,  and  huge  masses  of  iron,  with 
terrible  javelins,  which  were  dipped  in  poison.  With 
majestic  calmness  he  viewed  all  of  these  demon  hos- 
tilities, and  the  bolts  which  were  launched  at  him 
were  changed  into  beautiful  flowers. 

In  the  most  solemn  manner,  he  then  called  to 
Brahma  and  to  "all  the  Buddhas  that  live  at  the  ten 
horizons,"  and  smiting  the  ground  until  the  earth  re- 
verberated like  a  huge  vessel  of  brass,  he  prayed : 
"Disperse  this  crew  of  Krishna!"1 

Immediately  the  horses,  chariots  and  elephants  of 
the  demon  army  were  hurled  into  the  mud,  and  the 
mighty  warriors  dispersed.2  In  Tumour's  Singhalese 
biography,  the  Madurattha-vilasini,  Brahma  is  also 
introduced  into  the  conflict,  but  he  flies  away  in  ab- 
ject terror,  with  his  parasol  of  universal  dominion  in 
his  hand,  and  throws  it  down  on  the  confines  of 
Sakwala.3 

1  In  Wilson's  version  of  Rig-veda  Sanhita,  mention  is  made  of  fifty  thou- 
sand Krishnas,  all  of  whom  were  black  demons.    Vol.  I,  p.  192. 

2  Tibetan  version. 

3 Pali  Buddhistical  Annals,  Journal  Bengal  Asiatic  Society.    Vol.  VII, 
p.  812. 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  57 

THE    ATTAINMENT    OF    BUDDHAHOOD. 

While  still  under  the  Bo-tree,  he  acquired,  in  the 
first  watch  of  the  night,  the  knowledge  of  the  past; 
in  the  middle  watch,  the  knowledge  of  the  present, 
and  in  the  third  watch,  the  knowledge  of  the  "  Chain 
of  Causation,"  which  leads  to  the  origin  of  evil. 

"Now,  while  he  was  still  seated  there,  the  Blessed 
One  thought :  *  It  is  in  order  to  attain  this  throne  of 
triumph  that  I  have  undergone  successive  births  for 
so  long  a  time ;  that  I  severed  my  crowned  head 
from  my  neck  and  gave  it  away ;  that  I  tore  out  my 
darkened  eyes  and  gave  them  away ;  that  I  gave,  to 
serve  others,  such  sons  as  Jali,  such  daughters  as 
Kanha  Jina,  and  such  wives  as  Maddi,  the  queen. 
This  seat  is  a  throne  of  triumph  for  me,  and  I  will 
not  leave  it  yet/ 

"Having  spent  four  weeks  by  the  Bo-tree,  he  went 
in  the  fifth  week  to  the  Shepherd's  Nigrodha  tree, 
and  sat  there  meditating  on  the  truth. 

"Now  the  evil  angel,  Mara,  grieved  that  he  had 
not  succeeded  in  conquering  him,  and  then  the  three l 
daughters  of  Mara  drew  near  and  inquired  why  he 
was  sad  ?  On  being  told,  they  volunteered  to  conquer 
the  new  Buddha,  and,  assuming  the  forms  of  beautiful 
women,  they  sought  to  debase  him  by  using  all  their 
lying  flatteries  and  snaky  charms. 

"Six  times  they  went  to  him  and  professed  to  be 
his  most  humble  hand-maidens.  But  the  Blessed  One 

i  In  other  works  the  statement  is  made  that  there  were  sixteen  of  these 
fiendish  females. 


58  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

said  :  '  Depart  ye !  why  strive  ye  thus  ? '  And  then 
the  evil  women  returned  to  their  father,  confessing 
their  inability  to  conquer  him. 

"When  the  Blessed  One  had  spent  a  week  at  that 
spot/ he  went  to  the  Mucalinda  tree.  There  he  re- 
mained for  a  week,  and  Mucalinda,  the  snake  king, 
shielded  him  from  the  storms  by  winding  his  coils 
around  him,  and  by  spreading  the  folds  of  his  hood 
over  his  head.  Being  thus  protected  by  the  king  of 
the  cobras,  he  '  enjoyed  the  bliss  of  salvation  as  if  he 
had  been  resting  in  a  pleasant  chamber,  free  from  all 
disturbances/1 

"Thence  he  went  to  the  Rajayatana  tree,  and 
there,  also,  he  sat  down  enjoying  the  bliss  of  salvation. 
And  so  seven  weeks  passed  away,  during  which  time 
he  experienced  no  bodily  wants,  but  fed  on  the  joy  of 
meditation." 

FIRST   CONVERTS. 

"At  that  time  two  merchants  were  traveling  from 
Orissa  to  Central  India,  with  five  hundred  carts.  And 
an  angel,  who  was  a  blood  relation  of  theirs,  stopped 
their  carts,  and  moved  their  hearts  to  offer  food  to 
the  Buddha.  And  they  took  a  rice  cake  and  a  honey 
cake  and  went  up  to  him,  and  said  :  '  Oh,  Blessed 
One,  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  accept  this  food/ 
And  he  took  the  food,  and  ate  it,  and  the  two 
brothers  became  converts.  He  then  took  his  robe  and 
mendicant  bowl,  and  went  on  proclaiming  his  views 

i  The  story  of  his  protection  by  the  serpent  is  told  in  the  early  Vinaya 
texts  from  the  Pali  (see  Maha-vagga,  I,  3, 1).  Many  of  the  early  sculptures 
also  represent  him  sitting  at  ease  within  the  folds  of  the  snake. 


GAUTAMA    BUDDHA.  59 

until,  after  a  time,   he  went  to  a  palm   grove  attended 
by  a  thousand  Arahats." 

Still  later,  the  successor  of  the  Buddhas  was  dwell- 
ing in  a  bamboo  grove,  when  his  father,  Suddhodana, 
heard  that  his  son-  was  there,  and  he  sent  a  faithful 
messenger,  beseeching  him  to  come  back. 

RETURN    HOME. 

When  the  Buddha  received  the  message,  he  set  out 
for  his  old  home, 1  attended  by  twenty  thousand 
mendicants.  When  he  arrived  in  the  city  he  and  his 
followers  begged  their  bread  from  door  to  door. 

When  the  mother  of  his  child  heard  that  he  was 
begging,  she  opened  the  window  and  beheld  him,  dis- 
tinguished with  the  thirty-two  characteristic  signs  and 
the  eighty  lesser  marks  of  a  Great  Being,  and  she 
announced  to  the  king  the  fact  that  his  son  was  beg- 
ging bread. 

The  king  was  deeply  agitated,  and  going  out  he 
remonstrated  with  his  son  for  thus  bringing  disgrace 
upon  the  family. 

"This  is  our  custom,"  answered  the  Buddha. 

"Not  so/'  said  the  king,  "Our  descent  is  from  the 
royal  race,  and  amongst  them  all  not  one  chief  ever 
begged  his  bread." 

"This  descent  of  kings  is  your  descent,"  replied 
Gautama,  "but  mine  is  the  succession  of  the  Bud- 
dhas, from  Dipankara  down  to  Kassapa.  These  and 

i  It  is  said  that  before  this  faithful  messenger  was  sent  the  father  had  sent 
out  consecutively  eleven  men,  each  with  a  retinue  of  a  thousand  attendants, 
to  deliver  this  message.  But  one  company  after  another  embraced  Bud- 
dhism, and  joined  the  mendicants,  no  one  of  them  returning,— Birth  Stories, 

p.  119. 


60  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

thousands  of    other  Buddhas  have  begged  their  daily 
bread  and  lived  on  alms." 

He  then  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  street  and 
recited  the  following  verse : 

"Rise  up,  and  loiter  not! 
Follow  after  a  holy  life  ! 
Who  follows  virtue  rests  in  bliss, 
Both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next." 

When  he  heard  this  verse  repeated,  the  king 
attained  to  the  Fruit  of  the  First  Path,  and  Buddha 
then  repeated  the  following  verse  : 

"Follow  after  a  holy  life  ! 
Follow  not  after  sin  ! 
Who  follows  virtue  rests  in  bliss, 
Both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next." 

When  the  king  heard  this,  he  attained  to  the 
Fruit  of  the  Second  Path,  and  taking  Buddha's  bowl 
he  conducted  him  to  the  palace,  with  all  his  retinue, 
and  served  them  with  savory  food.  When  the  meal 
was  over,  all  the  women  came  and  did  reverence  to 
Buddha,  save  the  mother  of  Rahula,  and  she  waited 
for  him  to  come  to  her.  When  he  came  she  bowed 
down  and  held  him  by  the  ankles,  while  the  king 
told  the  Buddha  of  her  faithfulness.  "When  my 
daughter  heard,"  said  the  king,  "that  you  had  put 
on  the  yellow  robes,  she  dressed  only  in  yellow,  and 
when  she  heard  of  your  taking  only  one  meal  a  day, 
she  adopted  the  same  custom."  "It  is  no  wonder, 


GAUTAMA   BUDDHA.  61 

oh,  king!"  was  the  reply,  "that  she  should  watch 
over  herself,  now  that  she  has  you  for  her  protector; 
formerly,  even  when  wandering  in  the  mountains,  she 
watched  over  herself."  And  then  he  told  the  story 
of  his  own  birth  as  a  moon-sprite  and  went  away. 
Afterward  the  mother  of  Rahula  told  him  to  go  to 
his  father  and  ask  for  his  inheritance,  and  when 
he  did  so,  instead  of  giving  him  the  wealth  for 
which  he  asked,  Buddha  ordered  that  the  boy  be 
received  into  the  Order,  and  it  was  done.  The  king, 
however,  grieved  deeply,  and  besought  Buddha  that 
he  would  never  again  receive  a  child  into  the  Order 
without  the  consent  of  his  guardians. 

THE    FIRST    MONASTERY. 

The  first  monastery  was  built  by  a  householder,  who 
bought  the  grove  where  it  was  placed  for  eighteen  kotis 
of  gold  pieces,  laying  them  side  by  side  over  the  ground, 
and  he  built  a  monastery,  which  was  dedicated  "to 
the  Order  of  Mendicants,  with  the  Buddha  at  their 
head,  and  to  all,  from  every  direction,  now  present 
or  hereafter  to  come." 

It  is  said  that  this  monastery  was  built  upon  the  very 
spot  which  was  purchased  for  the  same  purpose  in  the 
time  of  the  blessed  Buddha  Vipassin,  and  the  merchant 
who  then  bought  it  did  so  by  laying  golden/  bricks  over 
it,  and  then  built  there  a  monastery  which  was  a  league 
in  length. 

And  in  the  time  of  the  blessed  Buddha  Sikhin,  a 
merchant  purchased  that  very  spot  by  covering  it  with 
golden  ploughshares,  and  built  there  a  monastery  which 
was  three-fourths  of  a  league  in  length. 


62  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

And  in  the  time  of  the  blessed  Buddha  Vessabhu,  a 
merchant  bought  the  land  by  laying  golden  elephant  feet 
along  it,  and  he  built  a  monastery  which  was  half  a 
league  in  length. 

In  the  time  of  Buddha  Konagamana,  a  merchant 
named  Ugga  bought  the  site  by  laying  golden  tortoises 
over  it ;  and  during  the  reigns  of  the  other  Buddhas 
other  merchants  bought  it  by  covering  the  ground  with 
gold,  and  built  monasteries  there,  for  the  place  had 
been  consecrated  by  the  presence  of  all  the  Buddhas, 
and  therefore  Gautama  lived  there  until  his  death.1 

1  Buddhist  Birth  Stories,  Vol.  I,  pp.  66-132. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
HISTORIC  SKETCH   OF  BUDDHA 

THE  THEORY  OF  A  MYTH — BIRTH  AND  EARLY  LIFE  — 
ASCETICISM  —  ENLIGHTENMENT — DISCOURSE  AT  BE- 
NARES—  SERMON  ON  THE  NON-EXISTENCE  OF  THE 
SOUL  —  THE  FIRE  SERMON  —  RELIEF  FROM  TRANSMI- 
GRATION—  THE  FATAL  MEAL  — THE  DEA.TH  OF 
BUDDHA. 

IT  is  from  such  material  as  that  contained  in  the 
foregoing  chapter  that  scholars  have  attempted  to 
sift  a  biography  of  Buddha  which  shall  be  historic  in 
its  character.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  distinguish 
between  the  true  and  the  false  by  rejecting  the  im- 
possible. "It  is  not  a  safe  process,  however/'  says  F. 
Max  Muller,  "to  distill  truth  out  of  legend  by  simply 
straining  it  through  the  sieve  of  physical  possibility. 
Many  things  are  possible  which  may  yet  be  the  mere 
inventions  of  later  writers,  and  many  things  have  been 
recovered  as  historical,  after  removing  from  them  the 
thin  film  of  mythological  phraseology."1 

In  view  of  all  the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  we 
can  hardly  wonder  that  some  critical  scholars  have 
despaired  of  attempting  to  sift  truth  from  fiction,  and 
have  even  questioned  the  existence  of  Buddha. 

i  F.  Max  Muller,  "Chips."    Vol.  I,  p.  205. 


64  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

Senart  and  Kern  claim  that  the  story  of  the  life  of 
Buddha  was  founded  upon  a  solar  myth,1  and  Pro- 
fessor Wilson  freely  expresses  his  opinion  that  it  is 
doubtful  whether  any  such  man  ever  existed. 

In  support  of  this  position,  the  great  Orientalist 
dwells  upon  the  fact  that  many  different  dates2  are 
assigned  to  his  birth,  and  the  total  variation  between 
them  present  the  enormous  discrepancy  of  more  than 
two  thousand  years.  He  shows  also  that  the  clan  of 
Sakyas  is  never  mentioned  by  the  early  Hindu  writers, 
and  dwells  upon  the  fact  that  all  the  names  of  Buddha 
are  allegorical,  except  Gautama. 

Besides  the  name  of  Buddha  (which  means  enlight- 
ened), he  has  seventeen  other  titles  or  epithets,  which 
are  significant  of  various  qualifications,  or  positions. 
For  instance,  one  of  the  most  common  appellations  for 
him  is  Sakya-muni  (Sage  of  the  tribes  of  £akyas), 
and  we  have  also  Sakya-sina  (Lion  of  the  &akyas), 

I  Senart  Claims  that  the  tree  under  which  Buddha  received  enlighten- 
ment was  the  cloud  tree.  In  the  clouds,  the  heavenly  fluid  is  stored,  and 
it  is  guarded  by  dark  demons.  In  the  hymns  of  the  Veda,  the  powers  of 
light  and  darkness  fight  their  great  battle  for  the  clouds,  and  the  water 
which  they  contain.  This  is  the  identical  battle  of  Buddha,  according  to 
the  French  scholar. 

2 We  have  in  all  about  thirty  different  statements  on  this  subject;  for 
instance,  the  Chinese  give  the  following  six  dates  as  the  time  of  his  birth: 
640,  767,  949,  950  and  1130  B.  C. 

From  Buddhistic  works,  in  Tibet,  fourteen  different  dates  have  been 
gathered  by  Csoma  de  Koros,  and  they  are  as  follows:  546.  576,  653,  752,  837, 
880>  882,  884,  1060.  1310,  2135,  2139,  2144  and  2422  B.  C. 

In  India  we  have  the  following  different  dates,  which  were  collected  by  a 
Chinese  pilgrim  named  Hiouen-thsang;  260,  360,  560,  660  and  860  B.  C. 

In  Ceylon  the  official  date  isv!077  B.  C.  (Laidlay's  Pilgrimage  of  Fa  Hian). 
Japan  furnishes  still  another,  as  the  Japanese  claim  that  he  was  born  1000 
B.C. 

Thus  we  have  twenty-seven  dates,  with  a  variation  of  more  than  two 
thousand  years  between  them,  besides  the  various  opinions  of  modern 
authorities. 


HISTORIC   SKETCH   OF    BUDDHA.  (J5 

and  many  others.  He  claims  that,  not  only  are  the 
names  of  Buddha  allegorical,  but  also  the  names  of 
those  connected  with  him,  the  name  of  his  father  sig- 
nifying "he  whose  food  is  pure,"  while  his  mother's 
name  signifies  "illusion."  Wilson  maintains,  too,  that 
Kapilavastu,  which  has  been  called  the  birthplace  of 
Buddha,  is  unknown  to  Hindu  geography,  and  sug- 
gests that  it  may  be  rendered  "the  substance  of 
Kapila."  He  apparently  understands  that  reference  is 
here  made  to  the  doctrines  of  Kapila,  upon  which 
some  scholars  suppose  the  principal  theories  of  Buddha 
to  be  founded. 

"It  seems  not  to  be  impossible,"  he  says,  "that 
Sakya-muni  is  an  unreal  being,  and  that  all  which  is 
related  of  him  is  as  much  fiction  as  is  that  of  his 
preceding  migrations,  and  the  miracles  attending  his 
birth,  his  life  and  his  departure."1 

"It  is  evident,"  says  Oldenberg,  "that  the  narra- 
tive concerned  may  be  a  myth  —  the  conditions  which 
suffice  to  make  the  concoction  of  such  a  myth  pos- 
sible certainly  exist.  And  this  possibility  of  a  purely 
mythical  conception  gains  further  support  by  the  un- 
doubted mythical  character  of  the  occurrences  yet  to 
be  discussed,  which  followed  the  attainment  of  Bud- 
dhahood.  But  showing  that  a  thing  may  be  a  myth 
is  not  equivalent  to  showing  that  it  is  a  myth,  and  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  that  which  can  be  urged 
in  favor  of  an  opposite  conception  is  not  without  its 
weight."  He  concludes  his  discussion  of  this  subject 
by  an  expression  of  his  belief  that  "in  the  narrative 

I  Wilson.    Essay  on  JJuddha  and  Buddhism. 


66  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

of  how  the  £akya  youth  became  the  Buddha,   there  is 
really  an  element  of  historical  memory."1 

To  reject  everything  which  has  been  written  of 
him  appears  as  unreasonable  as  to  believe  it  all,  and 
it  seems  not  impossible  to  gather  a  few  historic 
facts  from  the  mass  of  legends  connected  with  him; 
and  hence,  we  give  the  following  outline,  which  is 
correct,  so  far  as  it  can  be  gathered  from  the  most 
authentic  sources,  although  much  of  it  is  necessarily 
legendary,  as  we  are  indebted  to  Hindu  authors  for 
information. 

BIRTH    AND    EARLY    LIFE. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  multitude  of 
dates2  which  are  given  by  Buddhists  themselves  con- 
cerning the  time  of  Gautama's  birth,  and  there  is 
also  considerable  uncertainty  among  critical  scholars 
upon  this  subject,  but  the  discrepancy  here  is  much 
smaller,  and  the  best  estimates  do  not  vary  from  each 
other  more  than  half  a  century. 

We  must,  therefore,  accept  about  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century  before  Christ  as  the  time  of  his 
birth,  and  the  territory  of  Kosala,  about  one  hundred 
miles  northwest  of  Benares,  as  his  earliest  home.  He 
was  the  son  of  Suddhodana,  who  was  a  land  owner  of 
the  tribe  of  Sakyas,  and,  although  certainly  not  a 
king,  still  he  may  have  been  a  chief  of  the  tribe.  His 
mother's  name  is  called  Maya,  and  she  was  the  wife 
of  Suddhodana. 

Many  things  have  been   added  in  modern  times  of 

i  Oldenberg,  pp.  109-112.  2  See  note  to  p.  64. 


HISTORIC   SKETCH   OF   BUDDHA.  67 

which  the  primitive  Buddhists  never  heard.  For 
instance,  we  now  have  the  statement  that  "he  was 
conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost/'  "born  of  the  Virgin 
Maya,"  "song  of  the  heavenly  host,"  "presentation 
in  the  temple,"  "temptation  in  the  wilderness"  and 
other  similar  expressions,  which  are  unknown  to  the 
early  Pali  texts.  The  idea  that  the  writers  of  the 
gospels  were  in  any  way  indebted  to  Buddha  is  not 
entertained  by  scholars.1 

If  those  who  are  still  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  these  "similarities"  will  read  a  portion  of  the  New 
Testament,  it  may  save  them  from  repeating  the  blun- 
ders of  their  predecessors,  some  of  whom  have  asserted 
that  certain  things  were  "borrowed  from  Buddhism" 
which  are  not  contained  in  the  gospels  at  all ! 

The  name  of  Gautama  (which,  in  Pali,  is  spelled 
Gotama)  was  given  him  by  his  parents,  and  all  others 
are  simply  epithets  or  titles  which  were  applied  to 
him  in  later  years.  It  is  probably  true  that  he  was 
married  early  in  life,  as  that  is  still  the  custom  in 
India.  The  sons  of  respectable  families  in  modern 
times  could  not  remain  single  after  the  age  of  six- 
teen, or  seventeen,  without  bringing  more  or  less 
reproach  upon  themselves  and  their  friends.  He 
doubtless  had  several  wives,  but  the  name  of  the  prin- 

i  In  a  recent  letter  to  the  author,  Prof.  James  Legge  writes  as  follows  : 
"  I  do  not  think  Christianity  is  at  all  indebted  to  Buddhism.  And  so  far  as 
my  knowledge  goes,  the  idea  of  any  such  indebtedness  is  generally  repudi- 
ated by  scholars." 

See  also  Oldenberg,  B.,  p.  115;  Rhys  Davids,  Int.  to  Tevigga  Sutta,  p.  165; 
Ss.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  II. 

Compare  also  Sir  Monier  Monier-Williams,  BM  p.  541,  and  various  ad- 
dresses; P.  Max  Miiller,  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  180;  Barthelemy  Saint-Hilaire, 
Membre  de  le  1'Institut,  Le  Bouddha  et  sa  Religion,  Int.,  p.  7,  and  others. 


68  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

cipal  one,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  mother  of 
Rahula,  is  not  given  in  the  Pali  Pitakas  or  early 
texts. 

"Probably  this  name  was  unknown  to  the  Bud- 
dhists in  early  times,  and  thus  we  may  best  account 
for  the  difference  of  the  simply  invented  names  given 
to  this  lady  by  later  writers."1 

It  is  claimed  that  Rahula,  the  only  son,  was  not 
born  until  the  father  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  at 
which  time  he  was  becoming  convinced  of  the  vanity 
of  amusements  and  was  contemplating  the  idea  of 
entering  upon  a  monastic  life. 

ASCETICISM. 

The  story  of  the  four  visions  is  surely  reasonable 
enough  if  we  divest  it  of  the  features  of  supernatural- 
ism.  Although  we  might  not  accept  the  statement 
that  these  scenes  were  created  by  the  gods,  still  it 
would  be  easy  to  suppose  that  Gautama  might  see  an 
old  man,  and  a  man  who  was  worn  by  disease;  that 
he  might  also  meet  a  funeral  procession,  and  see  a 
monk,  is  not  improbable,  but  we  have  no  proof  that 
these  things  influenced  him  in  his  course. 

Oldenberg  says  of  the  story  of  the  four  visions 
that  "it  was  a  legend  which  was  narrated  of  one  of 
the  legendary  Buddhas  of  by-gone  ages,  and  it  was 
transferred  to  the  youth  of  Gautama."2 

It  is  apparently  true  that  he    left    his  home,   and 

i  Rhys  Davids  and  Oldenberg.  See  their  notes  to  the  English  translation 
of  the  Maha-vagga,  I,  542.  Also  Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  50,  and  Oldenberg,  B., 
p.  101. 

2 Oldenberg,  B.,  p.  103, 


HISTORIC   SKETCH   OF   BUDDHA.  69 

wife  and  child,  and  became  the  disciple  of  two 
Brahmans,  who  taught  him  their  own  philosophy.  It 
is  supposed  that  the  connection  between  Buddhism 
and  Brahmanism  may  be  due  to  the  ideas  which  Gau- 
tama here  learned  of  the  priesthood.  But  he  failed 
to  find  here  the  peace  which  he  sought,  and  his 
thoughts  turned  to  one  of  the  favorite  theories  of 
Brahmanism — the  doctrine  that  self-inflicted  bodily  suf- 
fering is  most  efficacious  for  the  accumulation  of 
religious  merit.  The  devotees  of  this  idea  sometimes 
sat  all  day  during  the  hottest  months  surrounded  by 
five  fires,  or  with  four  fires  around  them  and  the 
blazing  sun  over  their  heads  for  the  fifth.  The  gods 
are  represented  as  performing  the  most  severe  austeri- 
ties in  order  that  they  might  not  be  excelled  by 
mortals,  for,  according  to  the  Hindu  theory,  even  the 
gods  might  be  supplanted  by  the  power  which  men 
could  acquire  by  a  protracted  endurance  of  bodily  suf- 
fering. 

Gautama,  therefore,  sought  the  company  of  five 
other  ascetics,  and  began  his  celebrated  fast.  Sitting 
down,  unsheltered  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  he  gradu- 
ally reduced  his  daily  allowance  of  food  to  a  single 
grain  of  rice.  Then,  holding  his  breath,  he  macerated 
his  body,  and  resorted  to  other  means  of  self-punish- 
ment in  vain,  for  he  found  no  peace  of  mind.  Then 
he  arose  from  his  position  and  took  food  and  nourish- 
ment as  before,  thereby  incurring  the  disapproval  of 
his  companions,  who  continued  their  painful  austeri- 
ties. He  afterward  took  his  seat  under  a  sacred  fig 
tree  (the  Ficus  religiosa.  known  as  the  Pippala,  or 


70  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

Pipal),  and   gave   himself  up   to   other  forms  of  medi- 
tation. 

ENLIGHTENMENT. 

It  was  under  this  Bo-tree  that  he  finally  attained 
to  that  state  of  mind  which  is  called  "perfect  enlight- 
enment. Oldenberg  claims  that  it  is  "a  later  cast  of 
the  tradition,"  which  here  inserts  an  account  of  the 
great  temptation,  the  story  not  having  been  given  in 
the  sacred  Pali  texts.1 

The  "true  knowledge/'  which  was  there  evolved, 
appears  to  have  been  the  outcome  of  a  single  thought. 
It  was  the  doctrine  that  the  present  life  is  only  one 
link  in  a  chain  of  countless  transmigrations  —  that  ex- 
istence of  any  kind  involves  suffering,  and  that 
humanity  can  only  be  delivered  from  suffering  by  the 
extinction  of  all  desire,  especially  the  desire  for  exist- 
ence. The  self  which  he  endeavored  to  renounce  was 
the  self  of  personality.  The  self-love  which  Buddhism 
deprecates  is  that  which  consists  in  craving  for  con- 
tinuous life.  Gautama,  therefore,  took  refuge  from 
the  troubles  of  life  by  breaking  all  its  ties  and  sup- 
pressing all  its  affections. 

The  internal  self -enlightenment,  2  which  is  the  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  Buddhism,  is  said  to  have  found 
its  first  expression  in  the  utterance  of  the  following 
sentiment:  "Through  countless  births  have  I  wan- 

i  Oldenberg,  B.,  p.  115. 

2 The  Bhagavad-gita  asserts  that  "the  sage  (Yogi),  who  is  internal ly 
happy,  internally  at  peace,  and  internally  illuminated,  attains  extinction  in 
Brahma."  "This,"  says  Williams,  "is  pure  Buddhism,  if  we  substitute 
cessation  of  individual  existence  for  Brahma."  (See  B.,  p.  38.) 


HISTORIC   SKETCH   OF  BUDDHA.  71 

dered,  seeking,  but  not  discovering,  the  maker  of  this, 
my  mortal  dwelling-house,  and  still,  again  and  again, 
have  birth  and  life  and  pain  returned.  But  now,  at 
length,  thou  art  discovered,  thou  builder  of  this  house. 
No  longer  shalt  thou  rear  a  house  for  me.  Rafters 
and  beams  are  shattered,  and  with  the  destruction  of 
desire,  deliverance  from  a  repeated  life  is  gained  at 
last."1 

Another  struggle  awaited  him  before  he  decided  to 
publicly  advocate  his  views,  being  tempted  to  rest  in 
the  inaction,  which  seems  to  be  the  Hindu  ideal,  of 
happiness.  It  is  said,  however,  -that,  the  god,  Brahma, 
appeared  to  him,  and  admonished  him  to  preach  the 
doctrine. 

DISCOURSE    AT    BENARES. 

Instead  of  the  life  of  perfect  indolence,  therefore, 
which  he  himself  advocated,  he  went  out  to  preach 
the  doctrine ;  first,  to  five  mendicants  who  were  at  the 
Deer  forest  in  Benares.  The  following  is  the  sub- 
stance of  the  first  discourse,  as  given  by  the  Maha- 
vagga. 

"There  are  two  extremes,  0  monks!  to  be  avoided 
by  one  who  has  given  up  the  world.  A  life  devoted 
to  sensual  pleasures,  which  is  degrading,  and  a  life 
given  to  self-mortification,  which  is  profitless.  There 
is  a  middle  path — the  noble  eight-fold  path  discovered 
by  the  Buddha,  which  leads  to  wisdom,  to  perfect 
enlightenment,  to  final  extinction  of  desire  and  suffer- 
ing." He  also  expounded  "the  four  noble  truths" 

i  Dhamraa-pada,  153,  154. 


72  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

which  were  the  key  to  his  doctrine,  and  these  may  be 
briefly  stated  thus : 

1st.  "  All  existence  —  that  is,  existence  in  any 
form,  whether  on  earth  or  in  the  heavenly  spheres, 
necessarily  involves  pain  and  suffering. 

2d.  "  All  suffering  is  caused  by  lust,  or  craving,  or 
desire  of  three  kinds ;  either  for  sensual  pleasure,  for 
wealth,  or  for  existence. 

3d.  "  Cessation  of  suffering  is  simultaneous  with 
extinction  of  lust,  craving  and  desire. 

4th.  "Extinction  of  lust,  craving  and  desire,  and 
cessation  of  suffering  are  accomplished  by  perseverance 
in  the  noble  eight-fold  path,  viz. :  Right  belief  or  views, 
right  resolve,  right  speech,  right  work,  right  livelihood, 
right  exercise  or  training,  right  mindfulness  and  right 
mental  concentration.  And  how  is  all  life  suffering  ? 
"  Birth  is  suffering,  decay  is  suffering,  illness  is  suf- 
fering. Death  is  suffering.  Association  with  objects 
we  hate  is  suffering.  Separation  from  objects  we  love 
is  suffering.  Clinging  to  the  five  elements  of  exist- 
ence is  suffering.  Complete  cessation  of  thirst  and 
desires  is  cessation  of  suffering.  This  is  the  noble 
truth  of  suffering. 

"Thus  the  Blessed  One  spoke.  The  five  Bikkhus 
were  delighted,  and  they  rejoice4  at  the  words  of  the 
Blessed  One.  And  when  this  exposition  was  pro- 
pounded, the  venerable  Kondafina  obtained  the  pure 
and  spotless  eye  of  truth  (that  is  to  say,  the  follow- 
ing knowledge):  'Whatever  is  subject  to  origination 
is  subject  also  to  the  condition  of  cessation.'"1 

iMaha-vagga,  I.  6. 17.    The  closing  paragraph  is  frequently  repeated  in 
the  Maha-vagga  whenever  the  Blessed  One  preached  on  any  subject. 


HISTORIC   SKETCH   OF   BUDDHA.  73 

The  significance  of  this  discourse,  which  brought 
"the  pure  and  spotless  eye  of  truth"  to  the  hearers, 
must  depend  upon  the  interpretation  of  the  word 
"  right "  in  the  description  of  the  eight-fold  path. 
"The  explanation,"  says  Williams,  "is,  that  'right 
belief  means  believing  in  Buddha  and  his  doctrine  ; 
'right  resolve'  means  abandoning  one's  wife  and 
family ;  '  right  speech '  is  recitation  of  Buddha's  doc- 
trine; 'right  work'  is  that  of  a  monk;  'right  live- 
lihood '  is  living  by  alms  as  a  monk  does ;  '  right  ex- 
ercise '  is  suppression  of  the  individual  self ;  e  right 
mindfulness'  is  keeping  in  mind  the  impurities  and 
impermanence  of  the  body;  'right  mental  concentra- 
tion' is  trance-like  quietude."1  It  will  be  noted  that 
in  describing  the  misery  of  life,  associations  with  those 
we  love  are  not  mentioned  as  compensating,  in  any 
way,  for  the  occasional  presence  of  those  who  may  be 
offensive  in  their  personality. 

SERMON   ON   THE   NON-EXISTENCE   OF  THE   SOUL. 

It  was  also  at  Benares,  and  to  the  same  five  monks, 
that  Buddha,  a  few  days  later,  is  represented  as  say- 
ing : 

"Mendicants:  In  whatever  way  the  different  teach- 
ers regard  the  soul,  they  think  it  is  the  five  skandhas, 
or  one  of  the  five.  Thus,  mendicants,  the  unlearned, 
the  unconverted  man,  who  does  not  associate  either 
with  the  converted  or  the  holy,  or  understand  their 
law  or  live  according  to  it ;  such  a  man  regards  the 
soul,  either  as  identical  with,  or  as  possessing,  or  as 

1  Williams,  B.,  p.  44. 


74  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

containing,  or  as  residing  in  the  material  properties ; 
or  as  identical  with,  or  as  possessing,  or  as  contain- 
ing, or  as  residing  in  sensation.  (The  same  language 
is  repeated  in  relation  to  the  other  three  skandhas, 
viz.:  Ideas,  propensities  and  mind.) 

"By  regarding  the  soul  in  one  of  these  twenty 
ways,  he  gets  the  idea,  'I  am.' 

"Then  there  are  the  five  organs  of  sense,  and 
mind,  and  qualities,  and  ignorance.  From  sensation, 
the  sensual,  unlearned  man  derives  the  notions  that 
'I  am/  'this  I  exists/  'I  shall  be/  'I  shall,  or  shall 
not,'  have  material  qualities/  'I  shall,  or  shall  not 
have,  or  shall  be,  either  with  or  without  ideas/  But 
now,  mendicants,  the  learned  disciple  of  the  con- 
verted, having  the  same  five  organs  of  sense,  has  got 
rid  of  ignorance  and  acquired  wisdom ;  and,  there- 
fore, by  reason  of  the  absence  of  ignorance  and  the 
rise  of  wisdom,  the  ideas  'I  am/  'this  I  exists/  'I 
shall  be/  '  I  shall,  or  shall  not,  have  material  quali- 
ties, fl  shall,  or  shall  not  have,  or  shall  be,  either 
with  or  without  ideas/  do  not  occur  to  him."1 

"The  belief  in  self,  or  soul,  was  regarded  as  so 
distinctly  a  heresy  that  two  well  known  words  in 
Buddhist  terminology  have  been  coined  to  stigmatize 
it.  The  first  of  these  words  means  'heresy  of  indi- 
viduality/ the  name  given  to  this  belief  as  one  of  the 
three  primary  delusions  (the  other  being  doubt,  and  a 
belief  in  the  efficacy  of  rites  and  ceremonies),  which 
must  be  abandoned  at  the  very  first  stage  of  the  path 
to  holiness. 

i  The  above  extract  is  from  the  Sutta  Pitaka.  and  is  also  found  in  other 
works. 


HISTORIC    SKETCH    OF   BUDDHA,  75 

"The  other  is  attavada,  'the  doctrine  of  soul  or 
self/  and  which  is  the  name  given  to  it  as  a  part  of 
the  chain  of  causes,  which  leads  to  the  origin  of  evil. 
It  is  there  classed  with  sensuality,  heresy  (as  to 
eternity  and  annihilation),  and  belief  in  the  efficacy 
of  rites  and  ceremonies — as  one  of  the  four  upadanas, 
which  are  the  immediate  causes  of  birth,  decay,  death, 
sorrow,  lamentation,  pain,  grief  and  despair."1 

THE    FIRE    SERMON. 

After  Buddha  had  obtained  about  three  thousand 
followers,  he  is  said  to  have  delivered  this  celebrated 
discourse,  which  was  apparently  suggested  by  the  sight 
of  a  conflagration.  According  to  the  Maha-vagga,  it 
was,  in  substance,  as  follows  : 

"  Everything,  0  monks !  is  burning.  The  eye  is 
burning ;  visible  things  are  burning ;  the  sensation  pro- 
duced by  contact  with  visible  things  is  burning — 
burning  with  the  fire  of  lust,  enmity  and  delusion ; 
with  birth  and  decay,  death,  grief,  lamentation,  pain, 
dejection  and  despair.  The  ear  is  burning;  sounds 
are  burning ;  the  nose  is  burning ;  odors  are  burn- 
ing ;  the  tongue  is  burning ;  tastes  are  burning ;  the 
body  is  burning;  objects  of  sense  are  burning;  the 
mind  is  burning ;  thoughts  are  burning  ;  all  are  burn- 
ing with  the  fires  of  passion  and  lusts.  Observing 
this,  0  monks !  a  wise  and  noble  disciple  becomes 
weary  or  disgusted  with  the  world,  weary  of  things, 
weary  of  the  ear,  weary  of  sounds,  weary  of  odors, 
weary  of  tastes,  weary  of  the  body,  weary  of  the  mind. 

i  Rhys  Davids,  B.,p.95. 


76  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

Becoming  weary,  he  frees  himself  from  passions  and 
lusts.  When  free,  he  realizes  that  his  object  is  accom- 
plished, that  he  has  lived  a  life  of  restraint  and 
chastity,  and  that  rebirth  is  ended/'1 

He  here  compares  all  life  to  flame,  and  teaches 
that  his  followers  should  extinguish  the  fires  of  lust 
and  the  desire  for  existence,  while  he  advocates  the 
importance  of  monkhood  and  celibacy  for  the  attain- 
ment of  this  end. 

A  short  time  before  Buddha's  death  he  delivered  to 
his  attendants  the  following  discourse  : 

RELIEF   FROM   TRANSMIGRATION". 

"  And  the  Blessed  One  proceeded  with  a  great  com- 
pany of  the  brethren  to  Bhancla-gama.  There  the 
Blessed  One  addressed  them,  and  said  :  '  It  is  through 
not  understanding  and  grasping  the  four  truths,  0 
brethren !  that  we  have  had  to  run  so  long,  to  wander 
so  long,  in  this  weary  path  of  transmigration  —  both 
you  and  I. 

"'And  what  are  these  four?  The  noble  conduct 
of  life,  the  noble  earnestness  of  meditation,  the  noble 
kind  of  wisdom,  and  the  noble  salvation  of  freedom. 
But  when  noble  conduct  is  realized  and  known,  when 
noble  meditation  is  realized  and  known,  when  noble 
wisdom  is  realized  and  known,  when  noble  freedom  is 
realized  and  known  —  then  the  craving  for  new  exist- 
ence, which  leads  to  renewed  existence,  is  destroyed, 
and  there  is  no  more  birth.'"2 

Before  his   death  he  repeatedly  alluded  to  the  ap- 

1  Maha-vagga,  I.  21.  2  Maha-Parinibbana  Sutta,  chap,  iv,  2. 


HISTORIC    SKETCH   OF   BUBDHA.  77 

preaching  event  as  "the  final  extinction  of  the  Tatha- 
gata1  (or  Buddha),  and  he  frequently  spoke  of  passing 
away,  "by  that  utter  passing  away,  in  which  nothing 
whatever  remains  behind."2 

In  some  of  his  last  addresses  he  seemed  to  contra- 
dict his  life-long  teaching,  by  urging  his  followers  to 
work  out  their  own  salvation  from  continued  transmi- 
gration, without  looking  for  help  to  any  one  else,  not 
even  to  Buddha  himself. 

Although  the  formula  for  admission,  not  only  to 
the  monkhood,  but  also  to  lay  membership,  had  long 
been  a  declaration  that  the  candidate  took  refuge  in 
Buddha,  in  the  Dhamma  (or  law),  and  in  the  Order, 
and  although  this  formula  is  still  used  in  connection 
with  the  ceremony  of  initiation,3  still  we  find  the  Bud- 
dha, before  his  death,  addressing  the  monks  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Be  lamps  unto  yourselves,  be  a  refuge  unto 
yourselves.  Betake  yourselves  to  no  external  refuge. 
Hold  fast  to  the  truth  as  a  lamp.  Look  not  for  refuge 
to  any  one  besides  yourselves."4 

THE   FATAL   MEAL. 

In  relation  to  the  events  connected  with  his  death,* 
and  immediately  preceding  that  event,  we  apparently 
come  very  near  to  historic  ground,  as  we  have  the 
Maha-parinibbana-Suttana,  or  Book  of  the  Great 
Decease,  which  is  supposed  to  have  come  into  being 

i  Maha-Parinibbana  Sutta,  chap,  iii,  47,  63,  66. 
a  Ibid,  chap,  iv,  57  ;  also  chap,  v,  20,  21. 

3  This  formula  was  used  in  connection  with  other  matter  at  the  initiation 
of  a  candidate  into  the  Buddhist  Church  in  Chicago  in  1893. 

4  Maha-ParJnibbana  Sutta,  chap,  ii,  33. 


78  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

not  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  Buddha's  death. 
At  this  time  there  may  well  have  been  reliable  tradi- 
tions concerning  the  events  which  took  place  on  his 
last  journey,  and  this  being  true,  they  were  probably 
collected  and  handed  down  orally,  from  one  generation 
to  the  next,  until  they  were  committed  to  writing  at 
a  much  later  date.  From  this  valuable  authority, 
therefore,  we  quote  as  follows : 

"At  Pava  the  Blessed  One  stayed  at  the  Mango 
grove  of  JTunda,  who  was  by  family  a  smith.  And 
JTunda,  the  worker  in  metals,  .  .  .  addressed  the 
Blessed  One,  and  said  :  '  May  the  Blessed  One  do  me 
the  honor  of  taking  his  meal,  together  with  the 
brethren,  at  my  house  to-morrow?'  And  the  Blessed 
One  signified  by  silence  his  consent.  Now,  at  the  end 
of  night,  JTunda,  the  worker  in  metals,  made  ready 
in  his  dwelling  place  sweet  rice  and  cakes  and  a  quan- 
tity of  dried  boar's  flesh.  And  the  Blessed  One  robed 
himself  early  in  the  morning,  and,  taking  his  bowl, 
went  with  the  brethren  to  the  dwelling  place  of 
.ffunda.  And  when  he  was  seated  he  addressed 
jffunda,  the  worker  in  metals,  and  said :  '  As  to  the 
dried  boar's  flesh  you  have  made  ready,  serve  me  with 
it,  TTunda ;  and  as  to  the  sweet  rice  and  cakes,  serve 
the  brethren  with  it/  'Even  so,  lord!'  said  JTunda, 
the  worker  in  metals,  in  assent  to  the  Blessed  One.  And 
the  dried  boar's  flesh  he  had  made  ready  he  served 
the  Blessed  One ;  whilst  the  other  food  ...  he 
served  to  the  members  of  the  Order. 

"Now  the  Blessed  One  addressed  ./Tunda,  and  said: 
'Whatever  dried  boar's  flesh  is  left  over  to  thee, 


HISTORIC    SKETCH   OF   BUDDHA.  79 

.ffunda,  that  bury  in  a  hole.  I  see  no  one  on  earth, 
nor  in  Mara's  heaven,  nor  in  Brahma's  heaven,  no  one 
among  gods  and  men,  by  whom,  when  he  had  eaten  it, 
that  food  can  be  assimilated  save  by  the  Tathagata/ 
'  Even  so,  lord/  said  JTunda.  And  whatever  dried 
boar's  flesh  was  left  over,  that  he  buried  in  a  hole. 

"Now  when  the  Blessed  One  had  eaten  the  food 
prepared  by  .ffunda,  there  fell  upon  him  a  dire  sick- 
ness, the  disease  of  dysentery,  and  sharp  pain  came 
upon  him,  even  unto  death.  But  the  Blessed  One, 
mindful  and  self-possessed,  bore  it  without  complaint." 

The  Buddha  did  not  immediately  die  of  his  painful 
ailment,  and  before  passing  away  he  exonerated  .ffimda 
from  all  blame  in  the  matter. 

"And  the  Blessed  One  said  :  '  Now  it  may  happen, 
Ananda,  that  some  one  should  stir  up  remorse  in 
A'unda,  the  smith,  ...  in  that  when  the  Tatha- 
gata  had  eaten  his  last  meal  from  jffunda's  provision, 
then  he  died.  Any  such  remorse,  Ananda,  should  be 
checked  by  saying:  'This  is  good  to  thee,  JTunda, 
and  gain  to  thee,  in  that  when  the  Tathagata  had 
eaten  his  last  meal  from  thy  provision,  then  he  died/ " 

"The  offering  of  food,  which  when  a  Tathagata 
has  eaten,  he  attains  to  supreme  and  perfect  insight, 
and  the  offering  of  food,  which  when  a  Tathagata  has 
eaten,  he  passes  away,  by  that  utter  passing  away,  in 
which  nothing  whatever  remains  behind  .  .  .  these 
two  offerings  of  food  are  of  equal  fruit  and  equal 
profit,  and  of  much  greater  fruit  and  much  greater 
profit  than  any  others."1 

i  Maha-Parinibbana-Sutta,  chap.  iv. 


80  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

THE    DEATH    OF    BUDDHA. 

After  about  forty-five  years  of  itineracy,  the  death 
of  Buddha  took  place,  probably  a  little  more  than 
four  hundred  years  before  Christ. l 

The  body  of  Buddha  was  cremated,  and  the  re- 
mains were  divided  into  eight  portions,  one  of  which 
was  assigned  to  each  of  the  parties  claiming  it.  Over 
each  portion  of  the  relics  a  mound  was  built  and  a 
feast  was  held. 

It  is  probable  that  in  this  Sutta,  we  have  much  of 
history,  not  only  because  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the 
Buddhist  works,  but  because  it  records  events  which 
would  not  have  been  allowed  to  make  their  appear- 
ance as  fiction. 

"The  external  features  of  this  narrative,"  says  Dr. 
Oldenberg,  "bear  for  the  most  part,  though  not  in 
every  particular,  the  stamp  of  trustworthy  tradition."2 
Rhys  Davids,  Williams  and  others  have  called  atten- 

1  There  is  quite  a  difference  of  opinion  concerning  the  exact  date  of  his 
death.    Of  course  there  must  be  as  much  divergence  here  as  there  is  in  rela- 
tion to  his  birth  (see  note  to  p.  64),  and  even  among  scholars  the  variation  is 
considerable. 

Some  years  ago  it  was  claimed  by  such  men  as  Burnouf,  Lassen,  Wilson 
and  Barthelemy  Saint-Hilaire  that  Buddha's  death  occurred  about  543  B.  C., 
which  is  an  earlier  date  than  is  now  assigned  to  his  birth.  But  the  latest 
researches  of  European  scholarship,  making  use  of  the  inscriptions  upon 
coins,  rocks  and  columns,  besides  other  data,  make  it  much  later. 

Cunningham  is  of  the  opinion  that  it  occurred  about  478  B.  C.,  while  Prof. 
F.  Max  Muller  speaks  of  477  as  "  the  most  plausible  date."  (See  Chips,  Vol. 
I,  p.  202.) 

Professor  Williams  thinks  it  is  still  later,  and  assigns  420  "as  a  round 
number,"  although  he  says  that  Khys  Davids  has  good  reasons  for  assigning 
the  event  to  a  later  date  than  this. 

Oldenberg  and  Rhys  Davids  place  the  date  of  his  decease  at  "  about  420 
—  to  400  B.  C.,  or  possibly  a  year  or  two  later."— Sa.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  II,  p.  17. 

Kern  gives  388  as  the  most  probable  date. 

2  Oldenberg,  B.,  p.  196. 


HISTORIC    SKETCH    OF    BUDDHA.  81 

tion  to  the  fact  that  it  is  extremely  improbable  that 
the  followers  of  Buddha  should  fabricate  a  story  that 
he  died  in  consequence  of  eating  too  freely  of  pork, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  always  forbidden  the 
killing  of  animals.  Buddhism  required  even  the 
straining  of  water,  lest  one  should  inadvertently  de- 
stroy life,  and  the  throwing  of  water  upon  grass  was 
forbidden  for  the  same  reason.  Many  animals,  includ- 
ing the  pig,  were  held  to  be  especially  sacred,  because 
the  Buddha  was  supposed  to  have  occupied  such  forms 
during  a  multitude  of  previous  births,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  V. 
TEACHINGS  OF  BUDDHISM. 

TRANSMIGRATION — FORMER  BIRTHS  OF  BUDDHA  —  THE 
JATAKAS — THE  ORTHODOX  BELIEF  —  VARIOUS  FORMS 
ASSUMED  —  THE  MONKEYS  AND  THE  DEMON  —  THE 
WILY  ANTELOPE — THE  BULL  WHO  WON  THE  BET  — 
THE  FISH  AND  HIS  WIFE  —  THE  WISE  JUDGE. 

THE  doctrine  of  transmigration  is  much  older  than 
Buddhism,  and  Herodotus  affirms  that  it  origi- 
nated in  Egypt,  where  the  people  believed  that  when 
the  body  of  any  one  died,  the  soul  entered  into  some 
other  creature  which  was  born  to  receive  it.  They 
supposed  that  when  it  had  gone  the  round  of  all 
created  forms,  on  land,  in  water  and  in  air,  it  entered 
once  more  into  the  human  body  which  had  been  born 
for  it.  This  cycle  of  existence  for  the  soul  was  be- 
lieved to  take  place  once  in  three  thousand  years.1  It 
is  well  known  that  the  Egyptians  have,  for  many  cen- 
turies, exercised  great  care  in  the  preservation  of  their 
dead.  They  believe  that  if  a  limb  is  broken  from  a 
mummy  that  the  soul  will  be  crippled  in  the  same 
way  ;  and  probably  the  Egyptian  custom  of  embalm- 
ing the  bodies  of  cats,  crocodiles,  bulls  and  some 
other  animals,  originated  in  the  idea  that  they  had 

i  Herodotus,  ii,  123. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM.  83 

been  inhabited  by  souls,  that  might,  some  day,  again 
claim  these  bodies  for  their  own.  This  theory  of 
transmigration  took  early  root  in  Indian  soil.  It  is 
openly  taught  in  the  first  of  the  series  of  Upanishads,1 
and  the  germs  of  these  doctrinal  works  are  found  in 
the  early  songs  of  the  Rig-veda,  which  reach  back  in 
the  world's  history  almost  to  the  time  of  the  birth  of 


In  the  early  Vedic  hymns,  however,  there  appears 
to  be  no  regular  system  of  either  religion  or  my- 
thology, the  doctrines  of  Brahmanism  being  elucidated 
in  later  productions.  And  in  these  later  works  a 
three-fold  alternative  is  presented  to  the  soul ;  it  may 
pass  through  deities,  through  men,  or  through  beasts 
and  plants,  according  to  the  degree  of  merit  in  the 
individual,  the  lowest  degree  in  transmigration  being 
either  a  vegetable  or  a  mineral.  But  the  souls  which 
have  passed  even  into  these  lowest  forms  may  after- 
ward ascend  through  various  insects,  fish,  reptiles, 
snakes,  tortoises  and  other  similar  bodies.3 

All  the  theories,  however,  of  the  Egyptian  and 
Brahman,  require  the  existence  of  a  soul  which  passes 
from  one  form  to  another.  It  was  reserved  for  Bud- 
dhism to  teach  a  system  of  transmigration  from  one 
body  to  another,  even  while  ignoring  the  existence  of 
a  conscious  entity.  In  order  to  serve  the  cause  of 

i  According  to  the  chronology  usually  received  by  Sanskrit  scholars,  the 
most  ancient  of  these  works  slightly  preceded  the  rise  of  Buddhism,  and 
found  their  origin  five  hundred  years  or  more  before  Christ. 

a  The  original  composition  of  the  earliest  songs  of  the  Rig-veda  is 
assigned  to  the  time  between  1500  and  1000  B.  C.  (See  Max  Muller,  Sir 
Monier  Williams,  Kennedy.  Stevenson,  Wilson,  Barth&emy  St.  Hilaire  and 
others.) 

SManu,  1,2-40. 


84  PEIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

morality,  Buddha  retained  the  idea  of  personal  iden- 
tity, and  he  therefore  established  a  new  connection 
between  individuals  in  the  chain  of  existence,  which 
he  acknowledged  by  the  new  assertion  that  the  thing 
which  made  two  beings  to  be  the  same  was  not  soul, 
but  karma.  The  peculiarity  of  this  teaching  is,  that 
the  result  of  what  a  man  is,  or  does,  is  held  to  be 
concentrated  in  the  formation  of  a  new  sentient 
being;  new  in  its  constituent  parts  and  powers,  but 
the  same  in  its  essence,  its  being,  its  doing,  its  karma! 

The  theory  is  that  as  soon  as  a  man,  animal  or 
angel  dies,  a  new  being  is  produced,  in  a  more  or  less 
painful  state  of  existence,  according  to  the  karma  — 
the  desert  or  merit  —  of  the  being  who  died.1  Re- 
birth as  an  animal,  that  is  to  say,  the  transfer  of  a 
man's  karma  to  an  animal,  clearly  forms  a  part  of  the 
oldest  Buddhist  belief ;  and  the  authors  of  later  works 
rightly  take  it  for  granted. 

"The  curious  doctrine  of  transmigration  satisfied  the 
unfortunate  that  their  present  woes  were  the  result  of 
their  actions  in  a  former  birth,  and  would  be  avoided 
in  future  existences  by  liberality  to  the  priests  in  the 
present  life."2 

FORMER    BIRTHS    OF    BUDDHA. 

In  the  Cariya  Pitaka,  which  is  included  in  the  sup- 
plementary part  of  the  Pali  Pitakas,  the  karma  of 
Buddha  is  represented  to  have  belonged,  and  apparently 
in  succession,  to  both  men  and  animals.  It  is  clear 

iSee  Rhys  Davids,  "Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion,"  pp.  98,  107.    Also 
••  Buddhism,"  pp.  24, 101,  104. 
2 Ibid,  p.  24. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM.  85 

that,  during  his  long  period  of  transmigration  from  one 
form  to  another,  some  identity  must  have  been  retained 
if  he  could  remember  the  various  acts  and  emotions  of 
his  former  lives.  He  is  represented  as  not  only  re- 
membering his  early  experiences,  but  also  of  repeating 
various  portions  of  his  pre-existent  history  for  the  in- 
struction and  edification  of  his  hearers.  Not  only  this, 
but  one  of  the  early  Suttas  records  his  teaching  to  the 
effect  that,  by  a  certain  mode  of  life,  his  hearers  would 
be  able  to  call  to  mind  their  various  temporary  con- 
ditions in  the  ages  gone  by.  "Such  as  one  birth,  two 
births,  three,  four,  five,  ten,  twenty  ...  a  hun- 
dred, a  thousand,  or  an  hundred  thousand  births. 
'In  that  place/  he  would  then  be  able  to  say,  'such 
was  my  name,  my  family,  my  caste,  my  experience  of 
comfort  or  of  pain,  and  such  the  limit  of  my  life. 
And  when  I  passed  from  thence,  I  took  form  again  in 
that  other  place  .  .  .  and  when  I  fell  from  thence, 
I  took  form  in  such  and  such  a  place/  "l 

Many  of  the  Buddha's  experiences  in  former  births 
are  given  in 

THE    JATAKAS. 

"The  Buddhist  scriptures  are  sometimes  spoken  of 
as  consisting  of  nine  different  divisions,  of  which  the 
seventh  is  the  '  Jatakas/  or  'The  Jataka  Collection/ 
This  division  of  the  sacred  books  is  mentioned,  not 
only  in  the  Dipavamsa  itself  and  in  the  Sumangala 

l  Asankheyya-Sutta,  17.  This  teaching  is  apparently  as  authentic  as  any- 
thing in  the  whole  line  of  this  literature,  as  it  is  not  only  found  in  this  Sutta, 
but  the  text  of  this  clause  occurs  nearly  word  for  word  in  the  Brahma-jala 
Sutta,  pp.  17-21.  Also  in  the  Lalita  Vistara,  chap,  xxii,  p.  442.  It  also 
occurs  exactly  in  the  Samanna  Phala  Sutta,  p.  148.  (So.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  XI, 
V.  216.) 


86  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

Vilasim,  but  also  the  Anguttara  Nikaya  (one  of  the 
later  works  included  in  the  Pali  Pitakas),  and  in  the 
Saddharma  Pun(Jarika  (a  late  but  standard  work  of 
the  Northern  Buddhists).  It  is  common,  therefore,  to 
both  of  the  two  sections  of  the  Buddhist  Church ; 
and  it  follows  that  it  was  probably  in  use  before  the 
great  schism  took  place,  possibly  before  the  Council 
of  Vesali. 1  In  any  case  it  is  important  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  a  collection  of  Jatakas  at  a  very  early 
date/'2 

Among  the  most  interesting  and  important  archaeo- 
logical discoveries  which  have  recently  been  made  in 
India  are  those  of  the  Buddhist  carvings  on  the  rail- 
ings and  around  the  dome-shaped  shrines  of  Amaravati, 
Sanchi  and  Bharhut.  There  have  been  found  figures 
boldly  cut  in  deep  bas-relief  which  prove  to  be  illustra- 
tions of  the  sacred  Birth  Stories  —  scenes  from  the  life 
of  Gautama  in  his  various  births,  and  also  illustrations 
of  the  well-known  Buddhist  theory  that,  at  the  time 
of  his  conception,  he  entered  his  mother's  side  in  the 
form  of  a  white  elephant.  These  bas-reliefs  afford 
indisputable  evidence  in  relation  to  the  age  of  the 
Jataka  stories,  for  it  proves  that  they  were  already, 
at  the  end  of  the  third  century  before  Christ,  consid- 
ered so  sacred  that  they  were  chosen  as  subjects  to  be 
represented  around  the  most  sacred  Buddhist  build- 
ings. It  is  also  demonstrated  that  they  were  popularly 

i  The  Council  of  Vesali  was  held  about  one  hundred  years  after  the  death 
of  Buddha,  to  settle  disputes  as  to  points  of  discipline  and  practice  which 
had  arisen  in  the  Order.  The  hundred  years  is  a  "  round  number,"  but  it  is 
supposed  that  the  council  was  held  within  thirty  years  of  350  B.  C.  (See 
"  Birth  Stories,"  Vol.  T,  Int.  p.  56.) 

a  Ibid,  Int.  p.  62. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM.  87 

known  as  "Jatakas,"  by  the  inscription  over  a  number 
of  the  carvings  on  the  railing  at  Bharhut.1 

THE   ORTHODOX    BELIEF. 

"The  belief  of  orthodox  Buddhists  on  the  subject 
is  that  the  Buddha  was  accustomed  to  explain  and 
comment  upon  things  which  happened  around  him, 
by  telling  of  similar  events  which  had  occurred  in  his 
own  previous  births.  The  experience,  not  of  one  life- 
time, but  of  many  lives,  was  always  present  in  his 
mind.  The  stories  thus  told  are  said  to  have  been 
reverently  learned  and  repeated  by  his  disciples,  and 
immediately  after  his  death  five  hundred  and  fifty  of 
them  were  gathered  together  in  one  collection,  called 
the  'Book  of  Five  Hundred  and  Fifty  Jatakas  or 
Births.'  .  .  .  The  commentary  to  this  work  gives 
for  each  story  an  account  of  the  event  in  Gautama's 
life  which  led  to  the  telling  of  that  particular  story. 
Both  text  and  commentary  were  then  handed  down 
intact  in  the  Pali  language,  in  which  they  were  com- 
posed, until  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Patna.2  They 
were  carried  in  the  following  year  to  Ceylon,  where 
the  commentary  was  translated  into  Singhalese,  and 
in  the  fifth  year  of  our  era  retranslated  in  its  present 
form  in  the  Pali  language.  But  the  text  of  the 
Jataka  stories  themselves  has  been  throughout  pre- 
served in  its  original  Pali  form." 

"Unfortunately,"  continues  Rhys  Davids,  "this 
orthodox  belief,  as  to  the  history  of  the  book,  rests 

1  B.  B.  S.,  Vol.  I,  Int.  pp.  59-69. 

2  The  Council  of  Patna  is  supposed  to  have  been  held  about  the  year  250 
B.C. 


88  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

upon  a  foundation  of  quicksand.  The  Buddhist  belief 
that  most  of  their  sacred  books  were  in  existence  im- 
mediately after  Buddha's  death  is  not  only  not 
supported,  but  is  contradicted  by  the  evidence  of  the 
books  themselves."1 

Still,  it  is  highly  probable  that  all  those  Birth 
Stories,  which  are  not  only  found  in  the  Jataka  book 
itself,  but  are  also  referred  to  in  other  parts  of  the 
Pali  Pitakas,  are  at  least  older  than  the  Council  of 
Vesali. 

In  thus  ascribing  an  early  origin  to  any  portion  of 
the  literature  of  India,  we  must  rid  ourselves  of  the 
thought  that  it  could  only  exist  in  written  form,  as 
it  was,  for  centuries,  the  custom  of  that  people  to 
pass  their  sacred  books  from  one  generation  to  the 
next,  by  repetition  from  the  lips  of  their  priests.  As 
they  form  a  portion  of  the  most  sacred  of  the  Bud- 
dhist scriptures,  being  even  now  daily  repeated  to 
eager  listeners  in  every  Buddhist  country,  and  are 
believed  by  the  orthodox  to  be  veritable  history,  the 
Jatakas  are  well  worthy  of  examination,  and  a  few  of 
them  will  be  given  in  the  present  chapter. 

VARIOUS   FORMS   ASSUMED. 

It  is  said  there  have  been  five  hundred  and  fifty 
different  births,2  concerning  which  anecdotes  have 
come  down  to  us,  and  in  some  of  the  Buddhist  tem- 
ples, it  is  claimed,  there  are  relics  of  Gautama  in  the 

IB.  B.  S.    Int.  pp  1,2. 

2Pive  hundred  and  fifty  is  a  round  number,  both  in  relation  to  the  stories 
and  the  number  of  births.  There  are  many  more  of  the  tales,  and  in  some  of 
them  there  are  two  consecutive  births  of  Buddha,  while,  at  times,  several 
stories  are  told  of  the  same  birth. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM.  89 

shape  of  hair,  feathers  and  other  fragments  of  the  dif- 
ferent creatures  whose  bodies  he  previously  wore. 

According  to  Buddhist  authorities,  Gautama  was 
born  once  each  as  a  fairy,  a  hare,  a  frog,  a  waterfowl, 
a  carpenter,  a  devil  dancer,  a  silversmith,  a  gambler, 
a  curer  of  snake  bites,  and  a  dog.  He  was  born 
eighty-three  times  as  an  ascetic  and  eighty-five  times 
as  a  king.  Twice  he  was  born  as  a  pig,  twice  as  a 
thief,  twice  as  a  rat,  and  also  repeatedly  lived  the  life 
of  a  jackal,  a  fish,  a  woodpecker  and  a  crow.  He  was 
born  forty-three  times  as  a  tree-god,  and  twenty-four 
times  as  a  Brahman.  In  twenty-six  lives  he  was  a 
teacher,  in  twenty-four  he  was  a  courtier,  and  he  also 
led  twenty-four  lives  as  a  king's  son.  In  three  lives 
he  was  an  outcast,  and  in  three  forms  of  existence  a 
potter.  Four  times  he  was  born  a  peacock,  four  times 
he  was  the  god  Brahma ;  in  four  lives,  also,  he  was 
a  horse,  and  four  times  a  bull.  In  twenty-three  lives 
he  was  a  nobleman,  and  in  twenty-two  a  learned  man. 
Five  times  he  was  born  an  eagle,  and  five  times  a 
slave.  Six  times  he  was  an  elephant,  and  six  times  a 
snipe.  Eight  times  he  lived  as  a  wild  duck,  and  ten 
times  he  led  the  life  of  a  lion.  Eleven  times  he  was 
a  deer,  and  twelve  times  a  man  of  property.  Thirteen 
of  his  lives  were  devoted  to  commerce,  but  eighteen 
times  he  was  a  monkey.1 

"The  noteworthy  point,"  says  Sir  M.  Monier- Will- 
iams, "about  the  repeated  births  of  Buddha,  is  that 
there  has  been  no  Darwinian  rise  from  lower  to 
higher  forms,  but  a  mere  jumble  of  metamorphoses/'2 

i  B.  B.  8.,  p.  ci.  2  Williams,  B.,  p.  III. 


90  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

It  is  true  that  he  is  represented  as  being  born  in 
the  Tusita  heavens  the  last  time  before  he  was  born 
on  earth;  but,  says  Oldenberg,  "this  in  no  way  implies 
that  a  superhuman  nature  is  claimed  for  him.  One 
who  is  a  god  in  one  existence  may,  in  the  next  exist- 
ence, be  born  as  an  animal,  or  he  may  be  born  in  hell."  1 

Although  Buddha  passed  many  lives  in  the  humble 
forms  of  the  frog,  the  snipe,  the  rat,  the  fish,  the 
serpent,  the  monkey,  and  others  of  a  similar  char- 
acter —  though  he  repeatedly  led  the  life  of  a  thief,  an 
outcast  and  a  gambler,  still  he  escaped  the  greatest 
degradation  to  which  he  could  have  been  subjected  in 
the  eyes  of  the  people  of  India,  in  that  he  was  never 
born  a  woman  ! 

THE  MONKEYS  AND  THE  DEMON. 

This  is  a  story  which  was  told  by  the  Teacher  when 
he  was  living  at  the  Ketaka  wood.  It  was  here  that 
the  novices  brought  canes  to  the  monks  for  needle 
cases,  and,  finding  them  hollow  throughout,  they  went 
to  the  Teacher  and  inquired  of  him  how  it  happened 
that  the  NaZa-canes  were  hollow  from  root  to  point. 
"This,  mendicants,"  said  he,  "is  a  former  command 
of  mine."  And  then  he  told  the  tale  as  follows: 

"There  was  formerly  a  lake  in  which  there  was  a 
water  demon,  who  used  to  eat  whomsoever  went  down 
into  the  water.  At  that  time  the  Bodhisat  was  a 
monkey  king,  as  large  as  the  fawn  of  a  red  deer,  and 
he  was  attended  by  a  troop  of  about  eighty  thousand 
monkeys.  He  preserved  them  from  harm,  and  he  said 

i  Oldenberg,  B.,  p.  324. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM.  91 

to  them  one  day :  '  My  children !  in  this  forest  there 
are  poisonous  trees,  and  pools  which  are  haunted  by 
demons.  When  you  are  going  to  eat  fruit  which  you 
have  not  eaten  before,  or  to  drink  where  you  have 
not  drunk  before,  ask  me  about  it/ 

"  They  answered  in  accordance  with  his  wishes,  and 
one  day  when  searching  for  water,  they  found  a  pool, 
but  sat  down  and  awaited  his  arrival  before  drinking. 

"  He  then  examined  the  shores  of  the  pond,  and 
saw  the  marks  of  footsteps  which  went  down  into  the 
pond,  but  he  found  none  which  came  back.  Then  he 
knew  it  was  haunted  by  demons,  and  he  said :  '  My 
children  !  you  have  done  well  in  not  drinking  this 
water,  for  the  pond  is  haunted  ! '  Then  the  demon  of 
the  water,  seeing  that  they  were  not  coming  in,  came 
splashing  through  the  water  in  horrible  shape,  and 
commanded  them  to  come  down  and  drink  the  water. 

"  The  Bodhisat  refused  to  do  so,  and  said :  '  I 
suppose  you  think  we  must  go  down  to  drink.  But 
you  are  wrong !  Each  one  of  us  eighty  thousand  shall 
take  a  Nafo-cane  and  drink  the  water  from  your  pond 
without  ever  entering  it>  as  easily  as  one  would  drink 
from  the  hollow  stem  of  a  water  plant,  so  you  will 
have  no  power  to  eat  us  ! ' ; 

It  was  when  the  Teacher,  as  Buddha,  had  recalled 
this  circumstance  that  he  uttered  the  following  stanza : 

"I  saw  the  marks  of  feet  that  had  gone  down, 
I  saw  no  marks  of  feet  that  had  returned  ; 
We'll  drink  the  water  through  a  reed, 
And  yet  I'll  not  become  your  prey." 


92  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

So  saying,  the  Bodhisat  had  a  Na/a-cane  brought 
to  him,  and  appealing  in  great  solemnity  to  the  Ten 
Great  Perfections1  exercised  by  him  in  this  and  pre- 
vious births,  he  blew  into  the  cane,  and  the  cane 
became  hollow  throughout,  not  a  single  knot  being  left 
in  it.  Then  the  Bodhisat  walked  round  the  pond 
saying:  "Let  all  the  canes  growing  here  be  perfor- 
ated throughout."  And  thenceforth,  since,  through  the 
greatness  and  goodness  of  the  Bodhisat,  his  com- 
mands are  fulfilled,  all  the  canes  which  grew  in  that 
pond  became  perforated  throughout. 

After  giving  this  command,  the  Bodhisat  took  a 
cane  and  seated  himself,  and  the  other  monkeys  (eighty 
thousand  in  number)  each  took  one,  and  drawing  the 
water  up  into  their  canes,  they  all  sat  safely  on  the 
bank  while  drinking.  When  the  Teacher  had  finished 
his  discourse  on  the  hollowness  of  the  canes,  he  added  : 
"He  who  was  then  the  water  demon  was  Deva-datta; 
the  eighty  thousand  monkeys  were  the  Buddha's  reti- 
nue ;  but  the  monkey  king,  clever  in  resource,  was  I 
myself."2 

"Long  ago,  in  the  fifth  dispensation  before  the 
present  one,  the  Bodhisat  was  a  dealer  in  brass  and 
tinware  in  a  country  called  Servia.  He  here  went 
from  house  to  house  buying  up  old  metals,  and  it  was 
here  that  he  incurred  the  hatred  of  a  rival  dealer 
(who  was  afterward  born  as  Deva-datta),  by  buying  a 

i  Generosity,  morality,  self-denial,  wisdom,  perseverance,  patience,  truth, 
resolution,  kindness  and  resignation. 

2 This  is  the  Nala-pana  Jataka,  and  it  is  probably  the  one  which  is  illus- 
trated by  the  Bharhut  sculptor  in  the  scene  where  he  has  represented  many 
monkeys  sitting  down  and  listening  to  the  discourse  of  the  Bodhisat. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM.  93 

golden   dish   which   the   other  hawker  had  temporarily 
refused  for  the  purpose  of  getting  it  cheaper. 

When  Gautama  was  living  as  the  Buddha,  and  this 
man  had  been  born  as  Deva-datta,  he  became  a  Bud- 
dhist, but  on  one  occasion  he  asked  for  the  Five 
Rules,  and  failing  to  get  them,  he  made  a  schism  in 
the  Order,  and  taking  four  hundred  of  the  mendi- 
cants with  him,  went  and  dwelt  elsewhere.  And  hence 
his  enmity  for  Buddha  had  obtained  through  the  long 
ages  of  many  births. 

THE   WILY   ANTELOPE. 

This  story  is  told  by  the  Teacher  about  Deva-datta 
while  they  were  at  Jetavana.  The  monks  sat  talking 
in  the  lecture  hall  of  the  wickedness  of  him  who, 
they  said,  was  seeking  to  slay  the  Sage.  "Not  only 
now,  0  mendicants ! "  said  the  Teacher,  "  has  Deva- 
datta  gone  about  to  slay  me ;  he  formerly  did  the 
same  and  was  unsuccessful."  "Once  upon  a  time," 
he  continued,  "  the  Bodhisat  became  an  antelope,  and 
lived  in  his  forest  home,  feeding  upon  fruits,  and  at 
one  time  he  went  often  to  a  certain  heavily  laden 
tree.  A  deer  stalker  in  the  village  near  by,  noted 
the  tracks  of  the  deer  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  and 
after  an  early  breakfast  he  climbed  the  tree  with  his 
javelin  and  waited  for  his  game.  The  Bodhisat,  too, 
left  his  lair  early  in  the  morning,  and  came  up  to  eat 
the  fruits ;  but,  instead  of  going  hastily  to  the  tree, 
he  thought  to  himself :  '  The  hunters  are  sometimes  in 
the  trees ;  I  wonder  if  there  can  be  any  danger  of  that 
kind  ? '  And  he  stopped  at  a  distance.  Seeing  him 


94  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

hesitate  the  hunter  cautiously  threw  some  fruit  toward 
him.  Then,  looking  up,  the  Bodhisat  saw  the 
hunter,  but  pretending  not  to  see  him  he  called  out : 
'  0  tree !  you  have  been  wont  to  let  your  fruit  fall 
straight  down,  but  to-day  you  have  given  up  your 
tree  nature,  so  I  shall  go  and  seek  my  food  else- 
where/ Then  the  angry  hunter  hurled  his  javelin 
after  him,  exclaiming:  'Away  with  you  —  I  have  lost 
you  this  time ! '  The  Bodhisat  turned  around  and 
replied  :  *  0  man  !  I  tell  you  that,  though  you  have 
lost  me  this  time,  you  have  not  lost  the  eight  great 
hells  and  the  sixteen  Ussada  hells,  and  five-fold 
bondage  and  torment — the  result  of  your  conduct. 
These  you  have  not  lost/" 

And  when  the  Teacher  had  finished  this  discourse, 
he  added  these  words:  "He  who  was  then  the 
hunter  was  Deva-datta,  but  the  antelope  was  I  my- 
self."1 

THE    BULL   WHO    WON   THE    BET. 

There  were  six  bad  monks  whose  evil  deeds  and 
words  are  said  to  have  given  occasion  for  many  a 
by-law  which  was  enacted  in  the  Vinaya  Pitaka  for 
the  guidance  of  the  Buddhist  order  of  mendicants. 
And  on  one  occasion,  the  six  made  a  disturbance  by 
scorning,  snubbing  and  annoying  peaceable  monks,  and 
overwhelming  them  with  the  ten  kinds  of  abuse.  Bud- 
dha reproved  the  refractory  monks,  saying :  "  Harsh 
speaking,  0  mendicants  !  is  unpleasant  even  to  ani- 
mals. An  animal  once  made  a  man  lose  a  thousand 

i  B.  B.  S.,  p.  237. 


TEACHINGS   OF    BUDDHISM.  95 

who  addressed  him  harshly.  Long  ago,  in  the  reign 
of  King  Gandhara,  the  Bodhisat  came  to  life  as  a 
bull.  The  bull's  name  was  Nandi  Visala,  and  the 
owner  was  very  fond  of  it,  feeding  it  on  gruel  and 
rice.  The  animal  became  very  strong,  and  one  day 
he  said  to  his  owner :  '  Go  now  to  some  rich  squire, 
rich  in  cattle,  and  offer  to  bet  him  a  thousand  that 
your  ox  will  move  a  hundred  laden  carts/  The 
Brahman  did  so,  and  the  cattle  owner  readily  took 
the  bet ;  whereupon  the  owner  of  Nandi  Visala  filled 
an  hundred  carts  with  sand  and  gravel  stones,  ranged 
them  all  in  a  row,  and  tied  them  firmly  together. 
Then  he  bathed  the  ox,  gave  hirtl  a  measure  of 
scented  rice,  hung  a  garland  around  his  neck,  and 
yoked  him  by  himself  to  the  front  cart.  Then  he 
took  his  seat  on  the  pole,  raised  his  goad  aloft,  and 
called  out :  *  Gee  up,  you  brute !  Drag  'em  along, 
you  wretch!'  The  Bodhisat  said  to  himself:  'He 
calls  me  a  wretch.  I  am  no  wretch  ! '  and  he  stood 
perfectly  still.  Then  the  squire  claimed  his  bet,  and 
the  Brahman  was  compelled  to  pay  him  a  thousand 
pieces,  after  which  he  went  home  overwhelmed  with 
grief.  Afterward  Nanda  Visala  said  to  his  master:  'I 
have  lived  long  in  your  house ;  have  I  ever  done 
any  harm?'  And  the  Brahman  answered:  ' Never.' 
4  Then  why  did  you  call  me  a  wretch  ?  Your  loss  is 
your  own  fault.  It's  not  my  fault.  Go  now  and  bet 
him  two  thousand,  and  never  call  me  a  wretch  again 
— I  who  am  no  wretch  at  all !' 

"So  the  Brahman  went  and  bet  two  thousand,  and 
the  carts   were  tied   together   as  before,  and  when   all 


96  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

was  ready  the  Brahman  seated  himself  on  the  pole, 
stroked  Nandi  Visala  on  the  back,  and  called  out : 
'  Gee  up,  my  beauty  !  Drag  it  along,  my  beauty ! ' 

"And  the  Bodhisat  with  one  mighty  effort  dragged 
forward  the  hundred  heavily  laden  carts,  and  brought 
the  hindmost  one  up  to  where  the  foremost  one  had 
formerly  stood.  Then  the  cattle  owner  acknowledged 
himself  beaten,  and  handed  over  the  two  thousand 
pieces  to  the  Brahman.  The  bystanders  also  gave  a 
large  sum  to  the  Bodhisat,  and  the  whole  became  the 
property  of  the  Brahman." 

After  repeating  this  circumstance  the  Buddha 
uttered  the  following  stanza  to  the  six  mendicants  as 
a  rule  of  conduct : 

"Speak  kindly;  never  speak  in  words  unkind  ! 

He  moved  a  heavy  weight  for  him  who  kindly  spake. 

He  gained  him  wealth;  he  was  delighted  with  him!" 

When  the   Teacher  had  given   them  this  lesson  in 

virtue,  he  summed   up  the  Jataka  as   follows  :     "  The 

Brahman  of  that  time  was  Ananda,  but   Nandi  Visala 

(the  kind  bull)  was  I  myself."1 

THE    FISH    AND    HIS    WIFE. 

It  sometimes  happened  that  after  deserting  his  wife 
and  children  to  become  a  member  of  the  order  of 
mendicants,  the  human  heart  of  the  monk  hungered 
for  his  family,  and  longed  for  the  company  of  the 
loving  wife  whom  he  had  left.  While  at  Jetavana 
Buddha  learned  that  one  of  his  followers  was  thus 
tempted,  and  he  asked  him  :  "  Is  it  true,  then,  that 
you  are  lovesick  ?  " 

IB.  B.  S.,p.  266. 


TEACHINGS    OF   BUDDHISM.  97 

"  It  is  true,  lord  ! "  was  the  reply. 

"What  has  made  you  sad  ?" 

"Sweet  is  the  touch  of  the  hand  of  her  who  was 
formerly  my  wife.  I  cannot  forsake  her  ! " 

"0  brother!"  said  the  Teacher,  "this  woman  does 
you  harm.  In  a  former  birth,  also,  you  were  just 
being  killed  through  her  when  I  came  up  and  saved 
you/' 

When  Brahmadatta  was  reigning  in  Benares  the 
Bodhisat  became  his  private  chaplain.  At  that  time 
certain  fishermen  were  casting  their  nets  into  the  river, 
and  a  big  fish  came  swimming  along  with  his  wife. 
She  was  in  front  of  him,  and  smelling  the  net  she 
made  a  circuit  and  escaped  it,  but  the  other  went  into 
it.  When  the  fishermen  felt  him  coming  in  they 
pulled  up  the  net,  seized  the  fish  and  threw  him  alive 
on  the  sands,  and  began  to  prepare  a  fire  and  spit, 
intending  to  cook  and  eat  it. 

Then  the  fish  lamented,  saying  to  himself :  "  The 
heat  of  the  fire  would  not  hurt  me,  nor  the  torture 
of  the  spit,  nor  any  other  pain  of  that  sort ;  but  that 
my  wife  should  sorrow  over  me,  thinking  I  must  have 
deserted  her  for  another,  that  is,  indeed,  a  dire  afflic- 
tion ! "  And  he  uttered  the  following  stanza  : 

"  Tis  not  the  heat,  'tis  not  the  cold, 
Tis  not  the  torture  of  the  net ; 
But  that  my  wife  should  think  of  me, 
'He's  gone  now  to  another  for  delight/ " 

Just  then  the  chaplain  came  down,  attended  by  his 
slaves,  to  bathe  at  the  ford.  And  he  understood  the 
language  of  all  animals  •  so  hearing  the  fish's  lament, 


98  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

he  thought :  "This  fish  is  lamenting  the  lament  of  sin. 
Should  he  die  in  this  unhealthy  frame  of  mind  he 
would  assuredly  be  reborn  in  hell.  I  will  save  him." 
And  he  went  to  the  fishermen  and  said:  "My  good 
men,  do  you  not  furnish  a  fish  for  us  every  day  for 
our  curry  ? "  And  they  gave  him  the  fish.  The 
Bodhisat  took  it  up  in  his  hands,  seated  himself  on 
the  river  side,  and  said  to  it :  "  My  good  fish !  Had 
I  not  caught  sight  of  you  this  day,  you  would  have 
lost  your  life.  Now,  henceforth,  sin  no  more ! "  And 
thus  exhorting  it  he  threw  it  into  the  water  and  re- 
turned to  the  city. 

When  the  Teacher  had  finished  this  discourse  he 
proclaimed  the  truths,  and  the  depressed  monk  was 
established  in  the  fruit  of  conversion.  Then  the 
Teacher  made  the  connection,  and  summed  up  the 
Jataka :  "  She  who  at  that  time  was  the  female  fish 
was  the  former  wife ;  the  fish  was  the  depressed  monk, 
but  the  chaplain  was  I  myself."1 

In  striking  contrast  with  the  foregoing,  we  find  a 
story  in  the  same  collection  which  was  apparently  bor- 
rowed from  an  earlier  literature.  It  appears  to  be 
merely  an  Indian  version  of  the  judgment  of  Solo- 
mon recorded  in  the  Book  of  Kings,  which  is  much 
older  than  Buddha.  Of  course  the  narrative  has  re- 
ceived certain  characteristic  accretions,  and  Buddha  is 
made  the  hero,  but  the  similarities  are  too  strong  to 
be  ignored  by  scholars.  The  facilities  for  possible  bor- 
rowing from  the  older  Semitic  literature  will  be 
discussed  in  another  chapter.2 

i  B.  B.  S.,  299.  ?See  Chap.  X. 


TEACHINGS    OF    BUDDHISM.  99 

THE    WISE    JUDGE. 

"A  woman  carrying  her  child,  went  to  the  future 
Buddha's  tank  to  wash.  And,  having  first  bathed  the 
child,  she  descended  into  the  water  to  bathe  herself. 
Then  a  Yakshim,1  seeing  the  child,  had  a  craving  to 
eat  it.  And  taking  the  form  of  a  woman  she  drew 
near  and  asked  the  mother :  '  Friend,  this  is  a  very 
pretty  child ;  is  it  one  of  yours  ?'  Being  told  that  it 
was,  she  asked  if  she  might  nurse  it.  This  being 
allowed,  she  nursed  it  a  little  and  then  carried  it  off. 
But  when  the  mother  saw  this,  she  ran  after  her  and 
caught  hold  of  her,  crying  out:  ' Where  are  you 
taking  my  child  ?'  The  Yakshini  boldly  said  :  'It  is 
mine!'  And  so  quarreling,  they  passed  the  door  of 
the  future  Buddha's  judgment  hall.  Hearing  the 
noise,  he  sent  for  them,  and  after  inquiring  into  the 
matter,  he  asked  if  they  would  abide  by  his  decision. 

"They  agreed  to  do  so,  and  he  then  had  a  line 
drawn  on  the  ground,  and  told  the  Yakshini  to  take 
hold  of  the  child's  arms,  and  the  mother  to  take  hold 
of  its  legs.  'The  child/  said  he,  'shall  be  her's  who 
drags  him  over  the  line.' 

"But  as  soon  as  they  pulled  at  him,  the  mother, 
seeing  how  he  suffered,  grieved  as  if  her  heart  would 
break,  and  letting  him  go,  she  stood  there  weeping. 

"  Then  the  future  Buddha  asked  the  bystanders : 
'  Whose  hearts  are  tender  to  babes ;  those  who  have 
borne  children  or  those  who  have  not  ? ' 

iThe  Yakshas,  products  of  witchcraft  and  cannibalism,  are  beings  of 
magical  power  who  feed  upon  human  flesh.  The  male  (Yaksha)  occupies 
in  the  Buddhist  stories  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the  wicked  genius  in 
the  Arabian  Nights.  The  female  (Yakshini),  who  occurs  more  frequently, 
usually  plays  the  part  of  a  siren. 


100  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

"And  they  answered:  '0  Sire!  the  hearts  of 
mothers  are  tender/ 

"  ( Whom  do  you  think  is  the  mother ;  she  who  has 
the  child  in  her  arms  or  she  who  has  let  go  ? ' 

"  And  they  answered  :  '  She  who  has  let  go  is  the 
mother/ 

"  < This/  said  he  (of  her  who  held  the  child),  'is  a 
Yakshini,  who  took  the  child  to  eat  it/ 

"  '  0  Sire  !    How  did  you  know  it !' 

"  'Because  her  eyes  winked  not  and  were  red,  and 
she  knew  no  fear  and  had  no  pity,  I  knew  it/ 

"On  being  questioned,  the  Yakshini  then  confessed 
her  identity  and  admitted  that  she  took  the  child  to 
eat  it.  But  the  mother  exalted  the  future  Buddha, 
and,  praising  him,  she  went  away  with  her  child  clasped 
to  her  bosom/'1 

A  limited  space  forbids  the  examination  of  many 
other  interesting  stories  belonging  to  this  series. 

For  instance,  a  story  which  was  told  by  Buddha  at 
Jetavana  while  the  December  festival  was  being  held 
to  celebrate  the  close  of  the  season  called  "was"  or 
the  months  of  rainy  weather.  The  Buddha  had  spent 
"was"  among  the  angels,  not  because  he  cared  to  go 
to  heaven  for  his  own  sake,  but  he  went  in  order  "to 
give  the  angels  an  opportunity  of  learning  how  to  for- 
sake the  error  of  their  ways."2 

After  remaining  some  time  in  heaven,  he  descended 
on  the  day  of  this  great  festival ;  and  when  the  monks 
were  seated  in  the  great  lecture  hall,  they  began  to 

1  B.  B.  S.    Int.  p.  14. 

8  See  Professor  Co  well  in  Indian  Antiquary  for  1879, 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM. 

extol  the  virtues  of  the  Teacher,  saying : 
brethren !  unequaled  is  the  power  of  the  Tathagata. 
The  yoke  which  the  Tathagata  bears,  none  else  is  able 
to  bear!"  "0  mendicants,"  said  the  Buddha,  "who 
should  now  bear  the  yoke  that  I  can  bear  ?  For 
even  when  an  animal  in  a  former  birth,  I  could  find 
no  one  to  drag  the  weight  which  I  dragged."  He 
then  told  them  of  his  experience  when,  he  was  the  old 
woman's  black  bull,  and  his  name  was  "Blackie."  It 
was  then  that  he  was  enabled  to  make  money  for  his 
owner  by  dragging  carts,  which  were  so  heavy  that  not 
one  of  them  could  be  moved  by  five  hundred  pair  of 
other  cattle.1 

He  also  told  the  story  of  his  birth  as  a  wise  dog, 
when  he  convinced  the  king  that  the  royal  harness 
had  been  gnawed  by  the  dogs  belonging  to  the  palace, 
and  thereby  saved  the  life  of  himself  and  other  vagrant 
dogs  that  had  been  accused  of  the  act.2 

And  again  he  told  of  his  life  as  a  king  of  the 
geese,  when  he  rebuked  the  vanity  of  a  monk  who 
had  been  born  as  a  dancing  peacock.3 

The  fact  that  many  elaborate  similes  are  used  to 
enforce  the  arguments  in  the  Pali  Suttas  would  seem 
to  prove  that  Buddha  was  accustomed  to  teach  in  the 
way  which  these  stories  indicate. 

"It  is  not  improbable,"  says  Rhys  Davids,  "that 
the  compiler  was  quite  correct  in  attributing  to  him 
that  subtle  sense  of  humor  which  led  to  inventing,  as 

i  B.  B.  S.,  p.  270.  2  Ibid,  p.  240. 

3  Ibid,  p.  291.  The  story  of  the  dancing  peacock  is  one  of  those  which 
are  illustrated  by  the  carvings  in  bas-relief  around  the  Great  Tope  at 
Bharhut.  It  must,  therefore,  be  very  old. 


100  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

,jcasion  arose,  some  fable  or  some  tale  of  previous 
birth,  to  explain  away  existing  failures  in  the  conduct 
of  monks  or  to  draw  a  moral  from  contemporaneous 
events."1 

All  animals  are  more  or  less  venerated  under  the 
Buddhist  system  —  indeed,  it  cannot  be  otherwise  when 
every  Buddhist  believes  that  Buddha  himself  was  in- 
carnated hundreds  of  times  in  various  animal  forms. 

As  Buddha  was  a  pig  in  two  of  his  births,  and  died 
at  last  in  consequence  of  eating  too  freely  of  pork,  even 
the  pig  is  sacred,  and  in  the  sculptures  of  the  Tantrik 
goddess  Vajra-varahi  (adopted  by  Northern  Buddhists), 
a  row  of  seven  pigs  is  carved  underneath  her,  and  one 
of  her  three  heads  is  that  of  a  pig. 

The  feeling  of  reverence  for  animals,  which  is  so 
prominent  a  feature  of  Buddhism,  rests  upon  the 
doctrine  of  metempsychosis.  Of  course  neither  Hindu 
nor  Buddhist  can  draw  a  line  of  demarkation  between 
gods,  men  and  animals,  when  the  same  living  being  may 
exist  as  a  god,  a  man  or  an  animal.  It  is  on  this  account 
that  in  India  animals  mingle  freely  with  the  natives. 
"Bulls  walk  about  independently  in  the  streets  and 
jostle  you  on  the  pavements ;  monkeys  domesticate 
themselves  on  the  roof  of  your  house ;  crows  make 
themselves  at  home  on  the  window  sill  and  carry  off 
any  portable  article  of  jewelry  that  takes  their  fancy 
on  your  dressing  table ;  sparrows  take  the  bread  off 
your  table  cloth  ;  swarms  of  insects  claim  a  portion  of 
your  meal ;  bats  career  triumphantly  about  your  head 
in  the  bedroom,  and,  at  certain  seasons,  snakes  domi- 

iRhys  Davids,  Ibid,  p.  Ixxxiv. 


TEACHINGS   OF    BUDDHISM.  103 

cile  themselves  unpleasantly  in  the  folds  of  your 
garments. W1 

Among  the  animals  which  are  represented  in  the 
sacred  Bharhut  sculptures,  there  are  no  less  than  four- 
teen quadrupeds,  six  birds,  one  snake,  one  fish,  one 
insect  (the  flesh  fly),  one  crocodile,  two  tortoises,  one 
lizard  and  one  frog. 

According  to  the  Buddhist  theory,  man  may  be  born 
again  in  the  form  of  either  animal,  bird  or  reptile,  or 
he  may  be  born  as  a  god  or  demon.  "If  he  be  born 
in  hell  he  is  not  thereby  debarred  from  seeking  sal- 
vation ;  and  even  if  he  be  born  in  heaven  as  a  god, 
he  must  some  time  leave  his  happy  estate  and  seek 
for  the  condition  of  the  perfect  man  who  has  at- 
tained Nirvana,  and  is  soon  to  achieve  the  only 
consummation  for  which  it  is  worth  while  to  live  — 
extinction  of  personal  existence  in  Pan-nirvana." 2 

1  Williams,  p.  524.  2  Ibid,  K. .  p.  122. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
THE  TEACHINGS  OF  BUDDHISM,   CONCLUDED. 

METAPHYSICS  —  THE  SOUL  —  ATHEISM  —  POLYTHEISM  — 
IDOLATRY  —  PRAYER  —  PESSIMISM  —  HEAVEN  —  HELL 
—  SALVATION  —  MORALITY  —  NIRVANA  —  PARI-NIR- 
VANA. 


philosophical  doctrines  which  were  taught  by 
-f-  Buddha  consisted  largely  of  a  system  of  negations. 
The  metaphysics  of  Buddhism  were  freely  taught  in 
the  Vagra&Miedika,  or  the  Diamond  Cutter,  1  which 
is  not  only  an  early  work,  but  is  one  of  the  most 
widely  read  and  highly  valued  of  the  metaphysical 
treatises  of  Japan. 

"Dharma,"  says  F.  Max  Miiller,  "in  ordinary  Bud- 
dhist phraseology,  may  be  correctly  rendered  by  'law/ 
But  in  our  treatise,  dharma  is  generally  used  in  a  dif- 
ferent sense.  It  means  form  (Greek,  eidos),  and 
likewise  what  is  possessed  of  form,  what  is  individual, 
in  fact,  what  we  mean  by  a  thing  or  an  object. 

"What  our  treatise  wishes  to  teach  is  that  all 
objects,  differing  from  one  another,  by  their  dharmas, 

i  This  work  was  written  originally  in  Sanskrit,  and  has  been  translated 
into  Chinese,  Tibetan,  Mongol  and  Mandshu.  The  first  Chinese  translation 
is  ascribed  to  Kumaragiva  of  the  latter  Tsin  dynasty  (A.  L).  384-417),  and  an 
English  translation  of  this  was  published  by  the  Rev.  S.  Beal  in  the  Journal 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  in  1864-5. 

104 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  105 

are  illusive,  or,  as  we  should  say,  phenomenal  and 
subjective  —  that  they  are,  in  fact,  of  our  own  making, 
the  products  of  our  own  mind.  .  .  .  And,  hence, 
the  Buddhist  metaphysician  tells  us  that  things  are 
but  names,  and  being  names  they  are  neither  what 
they  seem  to  be,  nor  what  they  do  not  seem  to  be. 
There  are,  in  fact,  no  objects  independent  of  us ; 
hence,  whoever  speaks  of  things  or  persons  uses  names 
only. 

"  We  may  speak  of  a  dog,  but  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  dog.  It  is  always  either  a  greyhound  or  a  span- 
iel, this  or  that  dog,  but  dog  is  only  an  abstraction,  a 
name,  a  concept  of  our  mind.  The  same  applies  to 
quadruped,  animal  and  being;  they  are  all  names, 
with  nothing  corresponding  to  them.  This  is  what  is 
meant  by  the  highest  perfect  knowledge,  in  ivliich  noth- 
ing, not  even  the  smallest  thing  is  known,  or  known  to 
be  knoion.  In  that  knowledge  there  is  no  difference  ; 
it  is  always  the  same,  and,  therefore,  perfect.  He  who 
has  attained  this  knowledge  believes  neither  in  the 
idea,  that  is,  the  name  of  a  thing,  nor  the  idea  of  a 
no-thing,  and  Buddha  by  using  this  expression,  the 
idea  or  name  of  a  thing,  implies  thereby  that  it  is 
not  the  idea  of  a  thing.  This  metaphysical  agnos- 
ticism is  represented  as  familiar  even  to  children  and 
ignorant  persons,  and  if  it  were  meant  to  be  so  the 
endless  repetition  of  the  same  process  of  reasoning 
may  find  its  explanation."1 

It  was  clearly  stated   at  the  Congress  of  Keligions2 

l  Sa.  Bks.  E.    Vol.  XLIX,  p.  xiv,  Int.  to  the  Vagrakkhedika. 
a  Congress  of  Religions  held  in  Chicago,  September,  1893. 


106  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

that  this  extreme  scepticism  is  really  the  popular  view 
of  the  present  followers  of  the-  Maha-yana  Buddhism. 
A  deputy  sent  by  the  leading  sects  in  Japan  sub- 
mitted to  the  Congress  an  outline  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  Maha-yana  Buddhists,  which  had  been  carefully 
examined  and  approved  by  scholars  belonging  to  six 
of  the  Buddhists  sects  in  Japan ;  it  was,  therefore, 
published  with  authority,  and  in  this  document  the 
doctrine  was  emphatically  taught. 

THE    SOUL. 

It  is  in  harmony  with  this  system  of  negation  that 
Buddhism  was  constructed  independently  of  the  theory 
of  a  soul.  The  belief  in  a  soul  is  represented  as  one 
of  the  primary  delusions  which  must  be  abandoned  at 
the  very  first  stage  of  the  Buddhist  path.  Man  is 
never  the  same  for  two  consecutive  moments,  and 
there  is  within  him  no  abiding  principle  whatever. 

In  the  Sabbasava  Sutta,  in  speaking  of  the 
brethren  who  "consider  unwisely,"  Buddha  says:  "As 
something  true  and  real  he  gets  the  notion :  '  I  have 
a  self  ...  as  something  true  and  real  he  gets 
the  notion:  'By  myself,  I  am  conscious  of  myself.' 

.  .  Or,  again,  he  gets  the  notion  :  f  This  soul  of 
mine  can  be  perceived,  it  has  experienced  the  result 
of  good  and  evil  actions  committed  here  and  there; 
now,  this  soul  of  mine  is  permanent,  lasting,  eternal, 
and  has  the  quality  of  never  changing,  and  will  con- 
tinue forever  and  ever  ! ' 

"This,  brethren,  is  called  the  walking  in  delusion, 
the  puppet  show  of  delusion,  the  writhing  of  delusion, 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  107 

the  fetter  of  delusion.  Bound,  brethren,  with  this 
fetter  of  delusion,  the  ignorant,  unconverted  man 
becomes  not  free  from  birth,  decay  and  death ;  from 
sorrows,  lamentation,  pains,  griefs,  and  from  expedi- 
ents (the  practice  of  rites  and  ceremonies  and  the 
worship  of  gods)  —  he  does  not  become,  I  say,  free 
from  pain/*1 

No  true  Buddhist,  therefore,  believes  in  the  passing 
of  a  soul  from  one  body  to  another,  but  rather  in  the 
passing  on  of  the  merit  or  demerit  resulting  from 
one's  actions.  It  is  this  act  force  (karma)  combined 
with  upadana  (clinging  to  existence)  which  is  the 
connecting  link  between  each  man's  past,  present  and 
future  bodies.  Buddhists  appear  to  be  entirely  uncon- 
scious of  the  inconsistency  involved  by  claiming  that 
personality  is  transmitted  when  there  is  no  conscious- 
ness of  any  identity.  Neither  do  they  seem  aware 
that  there  is  any  incongruity  in  claiming  that  Buddha 
could  remember  the  experience  of  all  his  past  lives, 
even  though  there  was  no  conscious  entity  which  sur- 
vived the  death  of  either  body. 

ATHEISM. 

It  is  entirely  in  harmony  with  this  system  of  nega- 
tions that  Buddha  claimed  that  there  was  no  god 
higher  than  himself.  "Buddhism  has  no  creator,  no 
creation,  no  original  germ  of  all  things,  no  soul  of  the 
world,  no  personal,  no  impersonal,  no  supermundane, 
no  antemnndane  principle."2  The  idea  of  a  personal 
creator  is  not  only  denied,  but  Buddha  claimed  to 
find  no  one  in  the  universe  who  was  his  own  equal. 

i  Sabbasava  Sutta,  10-12.  2  Williams,  B.,  117. 


108  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

An  ascetic  by  the  name  of  Upasaka  came  to  him 
to  inquire  of  whom  he  had  learned  his  philosophy, 
whereupon  Buddha  replied  as  follows :  "  I  have  no 
teacher ;  there  is  no  one  who  resembles  me.  In  the 
world  of  gods  I  have  no  equal.  I  am  the  most  noble 
being  in  the  world,  the  irrefutable  teacher,  the  sole 
all-pervading  Buddha." 

In  one  section  of  the  Vinaya  Pitaka  a  story  is  told 
of  a  Brahman  who  ventured  to  inquire  why  it  was 
that  Buddha  did  not  honor  the  aged  Brahmans  by 
rising  in  their  presence  and  inviting  them  to  be 
seated.  Buddha  replied :  "  Brahman,  I  do  not  see 
any  one  in  the  heavenly  worlds,  nor  in  that  of  Mara, 
nor  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  Brahma  worlds, 
nor  among  gods  or  men,  whom  it  would  be  proper  for 
me  to  honor,  or  in  whose  presence  I  ought  to  rise  up, 
or  whom  I  ought  to  request  to  be  seated.  Should  the 
Tathagata  (Buddha)  thus  act  toward  any  one,  that 
person's  head  would  immediately  fall  off."1 

But,  although  he  did  not  acknowledge  any  being 
in  the  universe  to  be  superior  to  himself,  he  did 
recognize  the  various  gods  of  the  Hindu  pantheon, 
and  it  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  claimed  he  was 
born  forty-three  times  as  a  tree  god.  "These  gods  or 
spirits  were  preserved  very  much  in  the  previous  order 
of  precedence,  and  were  all  (except  Mara,  the  Evil 
One,  and  his  personal  following)  supposed  to  be  pas- 
sably good  Buddhists.  They  were  not  feared,  but 
patronized  as  a  sort  of  fairies,  usually  beneficent, 
though  always  more  or  less  foolish  and  ignorant. 

i  Quoted  by  Max  Miiller,  Science  of  Rel.,  p.  171. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  109 

They  were  no  longer  worshiped,  for  they  were  con- 
sidered less  worthy  of  reverence  than  any  good  and 
wise  man.  They  were  not  eternal  —  all  of  them,  even 
the  highest,  being  liable  to  death.  If  they  behaved 
well,  they  were  reborn  under  happy  outward  condi- 
tions, and  might  even  look  forward  to  being  born 
sometime  as  men.  No  exception  was  made  in  the 
case  of  Brahma.  He  also  was  evanescent,  was  bound 
by  the  chain  of  existence,  the  result  of  ignorance,  and 
could  only  find  sal^tion  by  walking  along  the  eight- 
fold path.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Brahma 
of  modern  times — the  God  of  the  ardent  theism  of 
some  of  the  best  of  the  later  Hindus — had  not  then 
come  into  existence ;  that  conception  was  one  effect  of 
the  influence  of  Mohammedan  and  Christian  thought 
upon  Hindu  minds.  But  even  if  the  idea  of  Brahma 
were  all  the  same  as  the  idea  of  a  god,  a  union  with 
him  would  mean  merely  a  temporary  life  as  an  angel 
in  the  Brahma  heavens."1 

The  radical  atheism  of  Buddha,  concerning  the  ex- 
istence of  any  superior  being,  resulted  hi  absurd 
polytheism  among  his  followers. 

POLYTHEISM. 

He  taught  that  man  has  no  Father  to  whom  he 
can  appeal  for  aid  or  sympathy,  but  the  higher  sen- 
timents of  the  human  heart  naturally  reach  upward, 
seeking  some  object  of  veneration,  and  no  man  can 
set  his  affections  upon  a  blank  or  an  abstraction. 
Hence  there  are  now  multitudes  of  gods  in  the  Bud- 
dhist pantheon. 

I  Sa.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  XI,  p.  163-164, 


110  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

We  have  the  first  or  lowest  class  of  Brahma  gods 
inhabiting  the  lowest  tiers  of  their  abodes,  the  second 
class  inhabiting  the  second  tier,  and  the  third  class 
inhabiting  the  highest  of  the  three  tiers.  But  there 
are  many  other  classes  of  gods  besides  those  belonging 
to  the  Brahma  abodes.  Indra  was  the  most  popular 
deity  of  the  early  Buddhists,  and  the  Dhamma-pada 
mentions  also  Agni,  the  god  of  fire,  and  again  Antaka, 
god  of  death,  sometimes  identified  with  Mara  or  Yama, 
"ruler  in  hell."  The  Buddhism  of  the  North  became 
identified  with  6aivism,  £aktism,  Magic,  and  even  with 
Tantrism l  with  its  horribly  loathsome  accompaniments. 

In  the  northern  countries,  various  forms  of  6iva 
and  of  his  wife  are  honored,  and  their  images  are  found 
in  the  temples.  Sometimes  bloody  sacrifices  are  offered 
to  them.  Among  the  female  deities  the  various  forms 
of  Tara2  are  chiefly  worshiped  and  regarded  as  Saktis 
of  the  Buddhas.  It  is  held  by  the  disciples  of  the 
more  advanced  Maha-yana,  especially  in  Nepal,  that 
there  are  five  Saktis  or  female  energies  (correspond- 
ing to  five  human  Buddhas),  but  the  goddess  Tara 
was  also  worshiped  by  Buddhists  in  India  proper. 

Among  the  many  shrines  at  Ceylon  there  are  some 
which  are  dedicated  to  a  demonical  goddess  called 
Pattini,3  and  every  disease,  every  calamity,  has  its  pre- 
siding demon,  and  all  such  demons  are  the  servants  of 
Buddha.  Among  other  supernatural  beings  of  Hindu 

iThe  worship  of  the  female  principle  (Sakti). 

2  The  images  of  Tara  (the  wife  or  Sakti  of  one  of  the  Buddhas)  repre- 
sent her  as  a  green  sedent  figure,  with  her  right  hand  on  her  knee  and  her 
left  holding  a  lotus. 

3  A  standing  image  of  the  goddess  Pattini  may  be  seen  in  the  British 
Museum. 


TEACHINGS    OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  Ill 

mythology  that  were  adopted  with  slight  changes  by 
the  Buddhists,  we  find  the  Pretas.  These  are  sup- 
posed to  partake  of  the  nature  of  ghosts  and  goblins 
who  have  at  one  time  inhabited  the  earth,  and  they 
are  represented  as  being  of  gigantic  size  and  terrific 
appearance ;  they  are  constantly  suffering  with  hunger 
and  thirst,  yet  never  able  to  eat  or  drink  on  account 
of  their  contracted  throats.  They  are  sometimes  repre- 
sented as  trying  to  eat  dead  bodies  or  their  own  flesh. 

The  Asuras  are  evil  demons  who,  like  the  Titans  of 
Greek  mythology,  are  always  at  war  with  the  gods. 
Closely  connected  with  them  are  the  Rakshasas,  with 
their  strongly  developed  man-eating  propensities. 
There  are  also  very  malignant  demons,  called  Pisacas, 
who  are  the  authors  of  all  evils. 

An  important  feature  is  also  found  in  the  Nagas, 
and  to  these  constant  allusion  is  made.  They  prop- 
erly belong  to  a  class  of  serpent  demons,  having 
human  faces  and  serpent-like  lower  extremities. 

They  are  introduced  into  Buddhist  sculptures  as 
worshipers  of  Buddha  and  friends  of  all  Buddhists. 
The  Naga  Mudalinda  who  sheltered  Buddha  was  a  real 
serpent.  The  Naga-kanyas  or  female  Nagas  (serpents 
from  the  waist  downward)  are  frequently  mentioned.1 

There  are,  too,  the  Mahoragas  or  great  dragons,  who 
also  belong  to  the  serpent  class  of  demons,  and  there 
are  many  other  classes  which  it  would  be  too  tedious 
to  enumerate. 

i  An  interesting  image  of  a  Naga-kanya  may  be  found  in  the  Museum  of 
the  Indian  Institute  at  Oxford  University  It  belongs  to  a  collection  of 
Buddhist  antiquities,  which  was  kindly  loaned  by  Mr.  TR.  Sewall,  of  the 
Madras  Civil  Service, 


112  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

The  worship  of  devils  and  demons  existed  in  Ceylon 
before  the  introduction  of  Buddhism,  but  it  was  readily 
adopted  by  the  new  system,  and  the  hideous  rites  con- 
nected therewith  became  a  prominent  feature. 

IDOLATRY. 

The  pandits  claim  there  was  no  idolatry  in  India 
until  the  Buddhists  set  the  example  of  worshiping 
material  objects  and  images,  and,  although  it  seems 
probable  that  material  impersonations  of  the  forces  of 
nature  existed  before  Buddha's  time,  there  is  no  evi- 
dence of  actual  idolatry  at  the  time  the  Rig-veda  was 
composed. 

But  during  the  reign  of  Buddhism,  the  development 
of  every  phase  of  idolatrous  superstition  reached  a 
point  of  extravagance  unparalleled  in  any  other  system 
in  the  world.  The  monks  of  Buddhism  vied  with  each 
other  in  the  fraud  with  which  they  constructed  their 
idols.  They  manipulated  them  so  that  they  seemed  to 
give  out  light  or  to  flash  glances  from  their  crystal 
eyes;  made  them  deliver  oracular  utterances,  or  fur- 
nished them  with  movable  limbs,  so  that  a  head  would 
unexpectedly  nod  or  a  hand  be  raised  to  bless  the 
worshiper. 

Besides  the  countless  images  of  Gautama  Buddha, 
there  are  images  of  the  Buddhas  who  preceded  him, 
and  Fa-hien  records  that  he  saw  in  Northern  India 
a  wooden  image  of  Maitreya  Bodhisat,  eighty  cubits  in 
height,  which  on  certain  days  emitted  a  brilliant  light. 
Offerings  were  continually  made  to  it  by  the  kings  in 
the  surrounding  countries.1 

i  Legge,  23. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  113 

It  was  not  until  the  introduction  of  the  worship  of 
Avalokitesvara  that  the  followers  of  Buddha  thought 
of  endowing  the  figures  of  their  deified  saints  with  an 
extra  number  of  heads  and  arms.  This  deity  was  rep- 
resented with  eleven  heads,  and  these  were  generally 
arranged  in  four  rows,  each  series  of  faces  having  a 
different  complexion.1 

In  China  this  god  is  represented  as  a  woman,  with 
a  thousand  arms  and  a  thousand  eyes.  She  has  her 
principal  seat  on  the  island  of  Poo-too,  on  the  coast  of 
China,  which  is  a  place  of  pilgrimage.  There  are  two 
images  of  her  in  the  British  Museum,  one  with  six- 
teen arms  and  the  other  with  eight.  Idols  are  far 
more  numerous  in  Buddhist  countries  than  among  any 
other  idolatrous  people,  and  not  only  this,  but  there 
are  many  other  sacred  objects  which  Buddhists  of  all 
schools  hold  in  veneration,  such  as  relics,  footprints, 
trees,  utensils,  bells,  symbols  and  animals.  In  many 
instances  homage  is  actually  offered  to  these  things. 
Tradition  claims  that  Gautama  once  directed  Ananda 
to  break  off  the  branch  of  the  pipal  tree  under  which 
he  attained  to  Buddhahood,  and  plant  it  in  the  garden. 
"He  who  worships  it,"  said  Gautama,  "will  receive 
the  same  reward  as  if  he  worshiped  me."2  Whether 
or  not  there  be  any  truth  in  this  legend,  we  certainly 
have  the  best  of  authority  from  many  sources  that  the 
Bodhi  tree  (or  pipal)  is  the  most  sacred  of  all  the 
trees  of  Buddhism,  and  for  centuries  actual  homage 
has  been  paid  to  it  in  Buddhist  countries. 

i  The  three  faces  resting  on  the  neck  are  white,  the  three  above  yellow, 
the  next  three  are  red,  the  tenth  head  is  blue,  and  the  eleventh,  that  is,  the 
head  of  his  father,  at  the  top  of  all,  is  red.—  Williams,  p.  487. 

3  Ibid,  p.  517. 


114  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

PRAYER. 

As  Buddha  believed  in  no  god  except  those  Hindu 
deities  who  were  considered  inferior  to  himself,  he  of 
course  taught  his  followers  to  utter  no  prayer  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  word.  They  could  not  make  an  ap- 
peal to  a  power  in  whose  existence  they  did  not 
believe.  He  established  no  real  church ;  instead  of  a 
priesthood  or  clergy,  ordained  for  the  purpose  of  aid- 
ing men  in  their  progress  toward  a  glorious  immor- 
tality, he  founded  an  Order  of  Monks  pledged  to 
denounce  human  life  as  not  worth  living,  and  bound 
to  abstain  from  all  participation  in  human  affairs.  It 
is  evident  that  there  could  be  no  place  for  genuine 
prayer  in  such  a  system  of  negations,  therefore  the 
three-refuge  formula1  was  the  only  substitute  of  the 
early  Buddhists,  and  in  Ceylon  it  is  maintained  to 
this  day  that  this  is  the  only  form  of  prayer  that 
should  ever  be  used.  Other  formulas,  however,  came 
into  use,  and  it  is  supposed  that  merit  may  be  accumu- 
lated by  the  constant  repetition  of  them.  The  most 
common  form  used  in  Tibet  consists  of  the  sentence  : 
"Om!  mani,  padme  Hum."  (Om!  the  jewel  in  the 
lotus.)2  This  is  called  the  Mani,  or  Jewel  prayer,  and 
the  Tibetan  believes  it  to  be  a  panacea  for  all  evil, 
the  treasury  of  all  knowledge  and  the  summary  of  all 
religion.  The  oftener  it  is  repeated  the  shorter  will  be 

1  See  p.  134. 

2  It  is  thought  that  an  occult  meaning  underlies  the  jewel  lotus  formula, 
and  that  many  who  repeat  it  are  ignorantly  doing  homage  to  the  self-gener- 
ative power  supposed  to  inhere  in  the  universe — a  power  pointed  at  by  the 
popular  Sankhya  theory  of  the  union  of  Prakriti  and  Purusha,  and  by  the 
universal  worship  of  the  Linga  and  Yoni  throughout  India.     (See  Williams, 
B.,  p.  372;  also  Koeppen's  note,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  p.  33.) 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED/ 

^OOKL^ 

the  individual's  course  through  the  six  forms  of^ 
istence.  Although  not  repeated  like  a  prayer,  in  the 
sense  of  a  petition,  the  words  are  murmured  every- 
where, and  also  written  upon  rolls  of  paper  and 
inscribed  in  cylinders,1  every  revolution  of  which  is 
supposed  to  repeat  the  mystic  sentence.  These  revolu- 
tions are  credited  as  so  much  "prayer  merit,"  and  a 
metallic  cylinder,  containing  the  words,  is  carried  in 
the  hand  and  whirled  around  like  a  child's  toy.  The 
revolutions  must  always  be  in  a  particular  direction 
(with  the  sun),  for,  if  by  chance  it  revolved  the  other 
way,  its  rotations  would  be  set  down  to  the  debtor 
rather  than  the  creditor  side  of  the  owner's  account. 

It  is  said  that  when  Baron  Schilling  visited  a  cer- 
tain convent  he  found  the  Lamas  occupied  in  prepar- 
ing one  hundred  millions  of  copies  of  "Om!  mani, 
padme  Hum,"  to  be  inserted  in  a  prayer  cylinder. 
He  also  states  that  the  inscription  relating  to  the 
foundation  of  the  monastery  of  Hemis  records  the  set- 
ting up  of  three  hundred  thousand  prayer  cylinders 
along  the  walls  and  passages  of  the  monastery.2 

Although  this  is  especially  true  of  Northern  Bud- 
dhism, still  the  prayer  wheel  is  also  common  in  Japan, 
where  civilization  has  obtained  so  strong  a  hold,  and 
other  methods  are  often  used.  An  eye  witness  gives 
the  following  description  of  an  idol  seen  in  Japan : 
"In  one  shrine  is  a  large  idol  spotted  all  over  with 
pellets  of  paper,  and  hundreds  of  these  may  be  seen 

i  A  complete  temple  of  Buddha,  with  praying  machines,  bells,  sacred 
towels,  idols,  etc.,  has  recently  been  brought  from  the  Orient  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

2 Dr.  Schlagintweit,  p.  121. 


11G  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

sticking  to  the  wire  netting  which  protects  him.  A 
worshiper  writes  his  petition  on  paper,  or,  better  still, 
has  it  written  by  a  priest,  chews  it  to  a  pulp  and 
spits  it  at  the  divinity.  If,  having  been  well  aimed, 
it  passes  through  the  wire  and  sticks,  it  is  a  good 
omen,  but  if  it  lodges  in  the  netting  the  prayer  has 
probably  been  unheard.  On  the  left  there  is  a  shrine 
with  a  screen  to  which  innumerable  prayers  have  been 
tied.  On  the  right  sits  one  of  Buddha's  original  dis- 
ciples. A  Koolie  with  a  swelled  knee  applied  it  to 
the  knee  of  the  idol,  while  one  with  inflamed  eyelids 
rubbed  his  eyelids  upon  it."1 

BELLS. 

A  very  important  part  of  a  monk's  equipment  in 
Tibet  is  the  prayer  bell  which  is  rung  to  accompany 
the  repetition  of  prayers.  The  object  of  ringing  bells 
during  worship  is  to  call  the  attention  of  the  beings 
who  are  worshiped,  or  to  keep  off  evil  spirits  by  com- 
bining the  noise  with  the  waving  of  the  handle.  In 
Burma  bells  abound  everywhere.  They  are  never 
rung  in  peals  or  with  a  clapper;  they  are  used  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  deities  and  spirits  to  the  act  of 
worship,  and  thus  secure  the  proper  registration  of 
the  prayer  merit.  When  a  man  has  finished  his  repe- 
titions he  strikes  the  bell  with  a  piece  of  wood  or 
other  sacred  implement,  and  the  more  noise  he  makes 
the  more  effective  it  is  supposed  to  be  in  calling 
attention  to  his  meritorious  act. 

"Having    thus   begun,"   says    Renan,    "with    pure 

i  Bird,  "  Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan."    (Murray,  London.) 


TEACHINGS  OF  BUDDHISM,  CONCLUDED.     117 

negation,  Buddhism  must  drift  into  the  most  unre- 
strained superstition.  The  needs  of  the  human  heart 
resumed  the  ascendant ;  the  influence  of  Saivaism  gave 
access  to  all  mythological  complications.  .  .  .  At 
the  same  time  moral  character  disappears ;  religion 
consists  only  in  turning  the  wheel,  making  statuettes 
of  Buddha  and  offering  flowers  to  the  statuettes. 
Pious  Buddhists  spend  their  time  in  counting  the 
revolutions  of  the  wheel,  calculating  chimerical  num- 
bers, and  beating  drums  to  drive  away  the  demons. 
All  is  pure  idolatry."1 

Perhaps  the  great  French  critic  is  somewhat  severe, 
for,  although  their  prayers  may  be  repeated  by  ma- 
chinery, written  upon  paper  or  inscribed  on  rocks, 
still  there  is  probably  something  of  the  spirit  of  devo- 
tion connected  even  with  idolatry  and  superstition. 

PESSIMISM. 

Buddha  was  the  prince  of  pessimists,  and  in  de- 
scribing the  misery  of  life  he  nowhere  alludes  to  the 
happiness  which  may  be  derived  from  health,  friends, 
love,  or  existence  in  a  world  of  beauty.  But  he 
claims  that  his  followers  must  believe  his  doctrine  — 
must  abandon  wife  and  children  —  live  upon  alms  as 
does  the  monk,  suppress  the  individual  self,  and  keep 
in  mind  the  impermanence  and  impurities  of  the 
body.  His  "way  of  knowledge"  was  a  knowledge  of 
the  idea  that  life  was  merely  one  link  in  a  chain  of 
existences,  all  of  which  were  inseparably  bound  up  in 
suffering  and  misery. 

i  Kenan,  Studies  in  Rel.  Hist.,  p.  110. 


118  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

The  common  doctrine  that  everything  was  for  the 
worst,  was  freely  taught  by  Brahmanism,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  a  doctrine  of  Hinduism  long  after  the 
disappearance  of  Buddhism.  The  great  effort,  there- 
fore, was  to  find  a  way  for  deliverance  from  the 
misery  believed  to  result  from  ceaseless  rebirth,  as  the 
various  schools  were  in  harmony  with  each  other  in 
relation  to  the  following  sentiment : 

"Enjoyments  are  alloyed  by  fear  of  sickness, 
High  rank  may  have  a  fall,  abundant  wealth 
Is  subject  to  exactions,  dignity 
Encounters  risk  of  insult,  strength  is  ever 
In  danger  of  enfeeblement  by  foes, 
A  handsome  form  is  jeoparded  by  women/ 
Scripture  is  open  to  assaults  of  critics, 
Merit  incurs  the  spite  of  wicked  men, 
The  body  lives  in  constant  dread  of  death  — 
One  course  alone  is  proof  against  alarms, 
Renounce  the  world  and  safety  may  be  won/'1 

HEAVEN. 

Although  heaven  is  only  a  temporary  abode,  still 
the  founder  of  Buddhism  believed  in  the  old  Hindu 
gods,  and,  while  claiming  that  they  were  inferior  to 
men,  he  promised  his  followers  that  they  should  be 
born  after  death  in  the  heavens  of  the  gods.  Accord- 
ing to  the  later  Buddhistic  theory,  there  were  twenty- 
six  successive  tiers  of  heavens,  one  rising  above  the 
other. 

In  the  center  of  the  world  system,   on  the  upper 

l  Vairagya-sataka,  III,  p.  32,  50. 


TEACHINGS  OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  119 

portion  of  the  great  mythical  mountain  Meru,  we 
have  the  lowest  heaven  of  the  gods.  This  is  above 
the  worlds  of  ghosts,  of  demons  and  of  men,  also 
above  the  eight  principal  hells,  and  here  abide  the 
four  great  champions  who  guard  the  earth  and  heavens 
from  the  demons  who  are  constantly  assailing  them 
from  below. 

The  second  is  the  heaven  of  Indra,  who  was  the 
favorite  god  of  the  Hindus  for  centuries. 

The  third  heavens  are  inhabited  by  beings  called 
Yamas.  They  take  no  part  in  the  strife  which  is  con- 
stantly waged  by  the  gods  of  the  two  lower  heavens 
against  the  demons,  and  who  are  unable  to  advance 
into  these  higher  regions. 

The  fourth  heaven  is  that  of  the  Tushitas  or  per- 
fectly contented  beings.  This  is  a  peculiarly  sacred 
region,  and  is  the  home  of  those  who  are  destined  to 
become  Buddhas. 

The  fifth  region  of  happiness  is  inhabited  by  beings 
who  constantly  enjoy  themselves  with  pleasures  pro- 
vided by  themselves. 

The  sixth  heaven  is  the  abode  of  beings  called 
Maras,  and  are  "lords  of  sensuous  desires."  They  are 
ruled  over  by  a  chief  Mara  who  tempts  men,  and  is 
always  on  the  watch  to  enter  the  citadel  of  the  body 
by  way  of  the  eye  or  the  ear.  He  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented as  the  Buddhist  Satan,  and  sometimes  as  a 
superior  god.  One  of  his  names  is  Kama  (desire). 

Above  these,  there  are  sixteen  other  and  higher 
heavens,  which  are  occupied  by  different  classes,  and 
high  above  these  are  worlds  which  are  inhabited  by 


120  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

formless  entities.  In  the  first  of  these  "  formless 
worlds"  are  beings  who  are  capable  of  conceiving 
the  idea  of  infinite  space.  In  the  second  are  those 
who  can  conceive  of  infinite  intelligence.  In  the 
third  are  those  who  can  conceive  the  idea  of  abso- 
lute nonentity,  or  the  doctrine  that  nothing  whatever 
exists  anywhere.  The  fourth  of  these,  and  highest  of 
all  the  twenty-six,  is  occupied  by  "beings  who  abide 
in  neither  consciousness  or  unconsciousness,  and  this 
is  considered  the  most  sublime  of  all  conditions  in  the 
heavenly  world,  and  belongs  to  mystical  Buddhism.  "l 

HELL. 

The  descriptions  of  hell  are  very  graphic,  and  the 
doctrine  of  the  Buddhist  contains  no  forgiveness. 
"Not  in  the  heavens,"  says  the  Dhamma-pada,  "not  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea  ...  wilt  thou  find  a  place 
where  thou  canst  escape  the  force  resulting  from  thy 
evil  action."2  In  Brahmanism,  also,  the  influence  of 
his  own  karma  or  action  is  universal  in  determining 
the  form  of  every  being  at  the  time  of  his  rebirth. 

A  passage  in  the  Deva-duta-sutta  represents  king 
Yama  as  pronouncing  the  doom  of  a  wicked  man 
thus :  "  These,  thy  evil  deeds,  are  not  the  work  of 
others ;  thou  alone  hast  done  them  all ;  thou  alone 
must  bear  the  fruit.  And  then  the  warders  of  hell 
drag  him  to  a  place  of  torment,  rivet  him  to  red-hot 
iron,  plunge  him  into  glowing  seas  of  blood,  torture 
him  on  heaps  of  burning  coal ;  and  he  dies  not  until 
the  last  residue  of  his  guilt  has  been  expiated.  "* 

1  Williams,  B.,  p.  213.  3  Translated  by  Oldenberg. 

2  Dhamma-pada,  127. 


TEACHINGS   OF    BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  121 

Although  the  punishment  of  hell  is  not  eternal,  its 
shortest  duration  is  five  hundred  of  the  years  of  hell, 
each  day  of  which  equals  fifty  years  of  earth.1 

In  Brahmanism  there  are  twenty-one  hells,  while 
Buddhism  had  originally  only  eight;  later,  however, 
there  came  to  be  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  divisions 
for  the  reception  of  different  offenders.  These  hells 
are  all  in  tiers  one  above  the  other,  and  they  lie  deep 
under  the  earth  in  the  lower  regions  of  the  Cakra-vala. 

One  of  the  most  important  temples  at  Ceylon  is 
the  temple  of  "the  sacred  eye  tooth/'  and  its  walls 
are  decorated  with  colored  frescoes  of  the  eight  prin- 
cipal hells.  Some  of  those  who  are  undergoing  pur- 
gatorial torments  are  represented  as  being  cut  in  pieces 
by  demons,  or  fixed  on  red-hot  iron  spikes;  others 
are  torn  asunder  with  glowing  tongs,  or  they  are  being 
sawn  in  two  with  saws;  others  are  being  crushed  be- 
tween rocks  or  consumed  by  flames  entering  the  differ- 
ent apertures  of  their  bodies.2 

The  Burmese  authorities  thus  describe  the  hell  to 
which  Deva-datta  was  condemned  for  repeatedly  at- 
tempting the  life  of  Buddha :  "  His  feet  are  sunk 
ankle  deep  in  burning  marl.  His  head  is  incased  with 
a  red-hot  iron  metal  cap  down  to  the  lobe  of  the  ears. 
Two  large  red-hot  iron  bars  transfix  him  from  the 
back  to  the  front,  two  horizontally  from  right  to  left, 
and  one  impales  him  from  head  to  foot."3 

The  following  description  of  a  portion  of  the  pun- 
ishments which  are  experienced  in  the  various  hells  of 
Buddhism  is  given  in  the  Buddha-^arita :  "  These 

i  Williams,  115-122.         2  ibid,  454.         3  Shway  Yoe's  "  Burman,"  1, 122. 


122  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

living  beings  under  the  influence  of  evil  actions  pass 
into  wretched  worlds  .  .  .  and,  being  born  in  a 
dreadful  hell,  full  of  terrors,  are  miserably  tortured, 
alas !  by  many  kinds  of  suffering.  Some  are  made  to 
drink  molten  iron  of  the  color  of  fire ;  others  are  lifted 
aloft  screaming  on  a  red-hot  iron  pillar ;  others  are 
baked  like  flour,  thrown  with  their  heads  downward 
into  iron  jars ;  others  are  miserably  burned  in  heaps  of 
heated  charcoal ;  some  are  devoured  by  fierce,  dreadful 
dogs,  with  iron  teeth ;  others  by  gloating  crows,  with 
iron  beaks,  and  all  made,  as  it  were,  of  iron ;  some, 
wearied  of  being  burned,  long  for  cool  shade ;  these 
enter  like  bound  captives  into  a  dark-blue  wood,  with 
swords  for  leaves ;  others,  having  many  arms,  are  split 
like  timber  with  axes,  but  even  in  that  agony  they  do 
not  die,  being  supported  in  their  vital  powers  by  their 
previous  actions."1 

An  earlier  authority  than  the  one  above  quoted  is 
the  Maha-vagga,  which  is  considered  one  of  the  most 
ancient  of  the  Pali  works.  It  is  here  that  we  find 
Buddha's  own  description  of  the  punishment  of  back- 
biters : 

"To  the  place  where  one  is  struck  with  iron  rods, 
to  the  iron  stake  with  sharp  edges  he  goes ;  then  there 
is  for  him  food  as  appropriate,  resembling  a  red-hot 
ball  of  iron. 

"For  those  who  have  anything  to  say  there,  do  not 
say  fine  things,  they  do  not  approach  with  pleasing 

i  This  doctrine  in  regard  to  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  is  given  as  a 
part  of  the  enlightenment  which  Buddha  attained  under  the  Bo-tree,  and 
this  was  the  "true  knowledge"  which  was  gained  in  the  second  watch. 
(See  Buddha-karita,  Bk.  XTV,  10-16.) 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  123 

faces;  they  do  not  find  refuge  from  their  sufferings, 
they  lie  on  spread  embers,  they  enter  the  blazing 
pyre. 

"Covering  them  with  a  net,  they  kill  them  there 
with  iron  hammers ;  they  go  to  dense  darkness,  for 
that  is  spread  out  like  the  body  of  the  earth. 

"Then  they  enter  an  iron  pot,  they  enter  a  blaz- 
ing pyre,  for  they  are  boiled  in  those  iron  pots  for  a 
long  time,  jumping  up  and  down  in  the  pyre. 

"Then  he  who  commits  sin  is  surely  boiled  in  a 
mixture  of  matter  and  blood ;  whatever  quarter  he 
inhabits  he  becomes  rotten  there  from  coming  in  con- 
tact with  matter  and  blood. 

"Again  they  enter  the  sharp  Asipattavana  with 
mangled  limbs ;  having  seized  the  tongue  with  a  hook 
the  different  watchmen  of  hell  kill  them. 

"  Then  they  enter  Votarani  that  is  difficult  to  cross, 
and  has  got  streams  of  razors  with  sharp  edges ;  there 
the  fools  fall  in,  the  evil-doers  after  having  done  evil. 

"There  black  mottled  ravens  eat  them  who  are 
weeping,  and  dogs,  jackals,  great  vultures,  falcons  and 
crows  tear  them."1 

The  reader  can  but  note  that  he  who  could  invent 
such  tortures  as  these  to  be  visited  upon  his  fellow- 
creatures  does  not  spare  the  life  of  the  serpent  or  the 
insect  from  a  feeling  of  genuine  humanity,  but  rather 
on  account  of  his  belief  in  metempsychosis.  It  is  diffi- 
cult for  either  a  Hindu  or  a  Buddhist  to  draw  a  line 
of  demarkation  between  gods,  men  and  animals  when 
the  same  living  being  may  exist  as  a  god,  or  a  man 
or  an  animal. 

i  Maha-vagga,  Kokaliya-sutta,  11-19. 


124  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

SALTATION. 

The  true  Buddhist  does  not  "seek  for  glory,  honor 
and  immortality;"  on  the  contrary,  his  every  effort  is 
to  avoid  a  future  life.  The  whole  system  being 
founded  upon  the  declaration  that  "all  life,  even  in 
heaven,  is  misery,"  the  great  desideratum  is  the  final 
escape  from  the  endless  wheel  of  existence.  , 

"Of  deliverance  of  that  from  which  we  are  to  be 
delivered,"  says  Oldenberg,  "of  the  way  in  which  we 
shall  be  delivered  of  this,  and  nothing  else  .  .  . 
do  the  sermons  of  Buddha,  as  rule,  treat.  God  and 
the  universe  trouble  not  the  Buddhist ;  he  only  knows 
one  question  :  '  How  shall  I,  in  this  world  of  suffer- 
ing, be  delivered  from  suffering  ?">l 

His  "way  of  knowledge"  was  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  that  all  life  was  misery,  and  the  two  causes  of 
suffering  were  lust  and  ignorance.  The  first  cure  was 
the  suppression  of  lust  and  desire,  especially  for  all  de- 
sire for  continued  existence.  The  second  cure  was  the 
removal  of  ignorance  —  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  all 
life  is  misery — that  the  misery  of  life  is  caused  by 
indulging  in  lusts,  and  will  cease  by  suppressing  them. 

But,  although  he  claimed  that  all  life  proceeded 
from  ignorance,  he  nevertheless  taught  that  life  in  one 
of  the  heavens  was  better  than  life  in  one  of  the 
hells,  and  neither  a  higher  form  of  life  nor  the  great 
aim  of  Nirvana  could  be  attained  without  right 
action,  meditation  and  true  knowledge. 

i  Oldenberg,  B.,  p,  130. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED,  125 

MORALITY. 

Buddhism,  like  Manu,  made  morality  the  basis  of 
law ;  it  stimulated  good  conduct  by  its  doctrine  of 
repeated  births,  and  by  the  pictures  of  a  multitude 
of  heavens,  while  it  deterred  its  followers,  as  far  as 
possible,  from  evil  conduct  by  its  vivid  pictures  of  ter- 
rible hells.  It  could  not  speak  of  sin  as  an  offense 
against  God,  as  it  recognized  no  deity  higher  than 
man ;  it,  therefore,  spoke  of  "  demerit,"  and  promised 
to  those  who  attained  perfection  that  they  should  be 
"  free  from  pain." 

The  moral  code  soon  passed  beyond  the  system 
which  Buddha  presented  in  his  "eight-fold  path," 
but  Dr.  Oldenberg  has  shown  that  we  may  still  trace 
out  the  leading  duties  of  external  life  and  internal 
mental  concentration.  The  five  fundamental  prohibi- 
tions were  formulated  at  an  early  day ;  indeed,  some 
of  them  were  taught  by  the  Jewish  law-giver  centu- 
ries before  the  birth  of  Buddha : 

1.  Thou  shalt  not  kill. 

2.  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

3.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

4.  Thou  shalt  not  lie  or  bear  false  witness. 

5.  Thou  shalt  not  drink  strong  drink. 

Besides  these,  five  other  commandments  were  given, 
and  these  were  for  the  benefit  of  the  monks  : 

6.  Eat  no  food  except  at  stated  times. 

7.  Use  no  wreaths,  ornaments  or  perfumes. 

8.  Use  no  high   or  broad   bed,  but  only  a  mat  on 
the  ground. 


126  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

9.  Abstain  from  dancing,  singing,  music  and  worldly 
spectacles. 

10.  Own  no  gold  or  silver  of  any  kind,  and  accept 
none. 

All  gambling  and  games  of  chance  were  prohibited, 
and  sometimes  five  renunciations  are  named :  The 
renunciation  of  wife,  of  children,  of  money,  of  life, 
and  of  craving  for  existence  in  future  births. 

There  are  also  six  (now  ten)  transcendent  virtues, 
called  Paramitas. 

NIRVANA. 

This  term  was  not  original  with  Buddha ;  it  was 
current  in  Gautama's  time,  and  certainly  occurs  in  the 
Maha-bharata,  some  portions  of  which  are  of  great  an- 
tiquity. It  is  now  common,  however,  to  both  Brah- 
manism  and  Buddhism.  The  subject  has  caused  much 
discussion  among  scholars,  and  the  principal  cause  of 
the  difficulty  is  the  contradictory  teaching  of  the  native 
authorities  upon  the  question. 

The  meaning  of  the  word  is  "extinction,"  "blown 
out,"  or  "the  state  of  a  blown-out  flame."  The  Bud- 
dhist who  arrives  at  perfection  is  supposed  to  be 
"blown  out"  (if  we  may  use  Buddhist  phraseology) 
like  a  lamp.  Some  Orientalists,  however,  claim  that 
the  word  means  merely  the  extinction  of  all  passions 
and  desires,  and  the  attainment  of  a  condition  which 
is  free  from  all  pain,  all  thought,  all  action  and  all 
feeling  —  a  condition  which  is  "neither  consciousness 
nor  unconsciousness,"  while  others  argue  that  it  repre- 
sents complete  and  final  extinction.  The  discussions 
upon  this  subject  are  not  by  any  means  of  modern 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  127 

origin,  for  the  different  schools  of  Buddhists  in  India, 
and  even  the  philosophers  of  the  same  school,  pro- 
pounded many  opinions  as  the  explanation  of  this 
term,  and  the  teachers  maintained  various  theories 
upon  the  question. 

But  we  cannot  expect  that  Nirvana  should  always 
be  explained  in  the  same  way  by  a  system  which  is  so 
elastic  that  it  changes  its  front  to  suit  the  character- 
istics or  opinions  of  every  country  which  it  approaches. 
Buddha  himself  frequently  spoke  of  his  approaching 
death  as  the  "final  extinction  of  the  Tathagata"  (or 
Buddha).  He  also  spoke  repeatedly  of  "passing  away 
by  that  utter  passing  away  in  which  nothing  whatever 
remains  behind.  "l 

And  again:  "The  body  of  the  Perfect  One,  0  dis- 
ciples, subsists  cut  off  from  the  stream  of  becoming. 
As  long  as  his  body  subsists,  so  long  will  gods  and 
men  see  him ;  if  his  body  be  dissolved,  his  life  run  out, 
gods  and  men  shall  no  more  behold  him."2 

On  the  death  of  one  of  his  disciples  he  gave  utter- 
ance to  the  following  sentiment :  "  Dissolved  is  the 
body,  extinct  is  perception ;  the  sensations  have  all 
vanished  away.  The  confirmations  have  found  their 
repose;  the  consciousness  has  sunk  to  its  rest."3 

When  the  venerable  Godhika  had  passed  away,  it  is 
said  that  the  followers  of  Buddha  saw  a  cloud  of 
smoke  moving  around  the  corpse,  and  they  asked  the 
Teacher  what  it  meant. 

"That  is  Mara  the  Wicked  One,  0  disciples,"  re- 
plied Buddha.  "He  is  looking  for  the  noble  Godhika's 

i  See  p.  77.  2  Brahmajala   sutta.    (See  the  close.) 

3  Udana  (Phayre  MS.)    See  also  Oldenberg.  p.  266. 


128  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

consciousness :  where  has  the  noble  Godhika's  con- 
sciousness found  its  place  ?  But  the  noble  Godhika  has 
entered  into  Nirvana ;  his  consciousness  nowhere  re- 
mains. "*• 

In  these  extracts  and  some  others,  we  have  the 
doctrine  of  eternal  oblivion  unmistakably  taught  by 
Buddha  himself,  but,  at  other  times  and  under  other 
circumstances,  he  persistently  declined  to  give  any  defi- 
nite answer  whatever  to  the  anxious  questions  of  his 
followers.2 

It  is  also  repeatedly  taught  in  the  sacred  texts  that 
"the  Perfect  One  neither  exists  after  death  nor  does 
he  not  exist."3 

After  a  careful  examination  of  the  subject,  Dr. 
Oldenberg  says  :  ' '  Does  the  path  lead  into  a  new  ex- 
istence ?  Does  it  lead  into  the  Nothing  ?  The  Bud- 
dhist creed  rests  in  delicate  equipoise  between  the  two. 
The  longing  of  the  heart  that  craves  the  eternal  has 
not  nothing,  and  yet  the  thought  has  not  a  something 
which  it  might  firmly  grasp.  Farther  off  the  eternal 
could  not  withdraw  itself  from  belief  than  it  has 
done  here,  where,  on  the  point  of  merging  into  the 
Nothing,  it  threatens  to  evade  the  gaze."4 

Professor  Childers  has  attempted  to  reconcile  the 
conflicting  statements  of  the  Buddhists  on  this  subject 
by  the  following  explanation:  "It  is  well  known  that 
in  the  Buddhist  books  there  are  two  distinct  sets  of 
epithets  applied  to  Nirvana,  the  one  implying  a  state 
of  purity,  tranquillity  and  bliss,  and  the  other  imply- 

i  Samyutta  Nikaya,  Vol.  I,  fol.  ghi.  Ibid,  281.      2  Ibid,  277-283. 
3Samyutta  Nikaya,  Vol.  II,  fol.  no,  seq.  *  Oldenberg,  B.,  p.  284. 


TEACHINGS   OF   BUDDHISM,    CONCLUDED.  129 

ing  extinction  and  annihilation.  This  circumstance 
has  given  rise  to  endless  discussions  relative  to  the 
true  nature  of  Nirvana,  the  result  being  that  most 
conflicting  views  have  been  held  on  this  question  by 
European  scholars/' 

1 '  The  theory  which  I  propose  is  one  which,  if  true, 
will,  I  think,  meet  all  difficulties  and  reconcile  the 
expressions  in  the  Buddhist  texts,  even  the  most  oppo- 
site and  antagonistic.  It  is:  That  the  word  Nirvana 
is  applied  to  two  different  things;  first,  to  the  annihi- 
lation of  existence,  which  is  the  ultimate  goal  of  Bud- 
dhism, and,  secondly,  to  the  state  of  sanctification, 
which  is  the  stepping-stone  to  annihilation,  and  with- 
out which  annihilation  cannot  be  obtained.  "l 

"Buddhism,"  says  Max  Miiller,  "if  tested  by  its 
own  canonical  books  cannot  be  freed  from  the  charge 
of  Nihilism.  .  .  .  The  ineradicable  feeling  of 
dependence  on  something  else,  which  is  the  main- 
spring of  all  religion,  was  completely  numbed  in  the 
early  Buddhist  metaphysicians,  and  it  was  only  after 
several  generations  had  passed  away,  and  after  Bud- 
dhism had  become  the  creed  of  millions,  that  this 
feeling  returned  with  increased  warmth,  changing  the 
very  nothing  into  a  paradise  and  defying  the  very 
Buddha  who  had  denied  the  existence  of  a  «deity. 
.  In  India  also,  Buddhism,  as  soon  as  it  be- 
came a  popular  religion,  had  to  speak  a  more  human 
language  than  that  of  metaphysical  Pyrrhonism.  But 
if  it  did  so,  it  was  because  it  was  shamed  into  it. 
This  we  may  see  from  the  very  nicknames  which  the, 

IChilders,  Tr^bner's  Literary  Record,  June  25,  1870, 


130  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

Brahmans  applied  to  their  opponents.  They  called 
them  Nastikas — those  who  maintain  there  is  noth- 
ing."1 "I  pointed  out/*  he  says,  "on  a  former 
occasion  that  if  we  derive  our  ideas  of  Nirvana  from 
the  Abhidharma  ...  we  cannot  escape  the  con- 
clusion that  it  meant  perfect  annihilation.  Nothing 
has  been  brought  forward  to  invalidate  Burnouf's 
statements  on  this  subject ;  much  has  since  been 
added,  especially  by  Barthelemy  Saint-Hilaire,  to 
strengthen  and  support  them.  ...  No  person, 
reading  with  attention  the  metaphysical  speculations 
on  Nirvana  contained  in  the  Buddhist  canon,  can 
arrive  at  any  other  conviction  than  that  expressed  by 
Burnouf,  viz.  :  that  Nirvana,  the  highest  aim,  the 
summum  bonum  of  Buddhism,  is  the  absolute  noth- 
ing."2 He  calls  attention,  however,  to  the  very 
apparent  fact  that,  although  Buddhism  teaches  it,  it 
does  not  necessarily  follow  that  it  was  the  sentiment 
of  Buddha  himself,  who  repeatedly  evaded  the  ques- 
tion^ and  still,  at  times,  he  taught  most  explicitly  that 
there  would  be  no  consciousness  of  the  perfected  one 
after  death.3 

Rhys  Davids  claims  (as  does  Child  ers)  that  while 
Nirvana  is  not  in  itself  absolute  extinction,  it  never- 
theless leads  to  the  shoreless  sea  of  oblivion.  "When 
a  Buddhist  has  become  an  Arahat,"  he  says,  "when 
he  has  reached  Nirvana,  he  has  extinguished  sin,  but 
he  is  still  alive;  his  body  with  all  its  powers  (that  is, 
the  fruits  of  his  former  sins)  still  remains.  These, 

1  Chips,  Vol.  I,  pp.  280,  281. 

2  Max  Miiller,  Science  of  Religion,  p.  178f 
a  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  330. 


TEACHINGS  OF  BUDDHISM,  CONCLUDED.     131 

however,  will  soon  pass  away ;  there  will  then  be 
nothing  left  to  bring  about  a  new  individual,  and  the 
Arahat  will  be  no  longer  alive  or  existent  in  any 
sense  at  all.  He  will  have  reached  complete  extinc- 
tion."1 The  solution  presented  by  Sir  Monier  Monier- 
Williams  is  much  the  same.  He  argues  that  Nirvana 
is  not  in  itself  necessarily  the  annihilation  of  all 
existence  —  it  is  the  absence  of  pain,  and  also  of 
demerit,2  and  of  all  thought  and  all  work.  "It  is 
not  consciousness,  neither  is  it  unconsciousness."3 

PARI-NIRVANA. 

Besides  Nirvana  we  have  another  term  —  Pari-nir- 
vana;  that  is,  "  without  remains  or  remnants  of  the 
elements  of  existence."4  This  is  the  oblivion  to  which 
Rhys  Davids  refers  when  he  says  that  "Death,  utter 
death,  with  no  new  life  to  follow,  is  the  result  of 
Nirvana."5  It  is  the  condition  to  which  Childers 
refers  when  he  says  that  "Nirvana  is  the  stepping 
stone  to  annihilation."  It  is  what  Williams  calls 
"the  extinction  of  personal  existence  in  Pari-nir- 
vana."6 

We  see,  therefore,  that  the  efforts  of  scholars  to 
reconcile  the  contradictory  teaching  of  the  Buddhist 

i  Rhys  Davids,  B. ,  p.  113. 

3  As  Buddhism  had  no  God  in  its  system,  neither  could  it  have  any  sin  in 
our  sense  of  the  word.  "  By  an  unrighteous  act  it  meant  an  act  producing 
Buffering  and  demerit  of  some  kind,  and  it  bade  every  man  act  righteously 
in  order  to  escape  suffering,  and  thus  work  out  his  own  perfection  —  that  is, 
his  own  self  -extinction.  "—William*,  B.,p.  124. 

3  Ibid,  p.  141. 

4  Childers' Pali  Dictionary. 

5  Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  114. 
«  Williams,  B.,  p.  123. 


132  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

authorities  upon  this  subject  are  quite  harmonious 
after  all.  There  are  shades  of  thought  and  definition, 
it  is  true,  but  they  agree  that  the  summum  lonum  of 
Buddhist  ambition  is  the  absolute  nothing.  The  only 
question  being  whether  Nirvana  itself  is  utter  extinc- 
tion or  only  a  half  conscious  condition  which  is  to  be 
succeeded  by  eternal  oblivion. 

It  is  true  that,  in  modern  times,  Buddhists  who 
have  intercourse  with  Christian  countries  sometimes 
claim  that  "  Nirvana  means  union  and  communion 
with  God,  the  absorption  of  the  individual  soul  by 
the  Divine  essence."  But  no  position  could  be  more 
absurd  than  this,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  true  Bud- 
dhism believes  in  no  God  with  whom  a  union  could 
be  formed,  and  no  soul  to  be  absorbed  if,  indeed,  it 
did  recognize  a  Divine  essence.  "Buddha  himself," 
says  Max  Miiller,  "  was  certainly  an  atheist ;  therefore, 
if  Nirvana  was  not  (in  his  mind)  complete  annihila- 
tion, still  less  could  it  have  been  absorption  into  the 
Divine  essence.  It  was  nothing  but  selfishness  —  in 
the  metaphysical  sense  of  the  word  —  a  relapse  into 
that  being  which  is  nothing  but  itself.  This  is  the 
most  charitable  view  which  we  can  take  of  Nirvana, 
even  as  conceived  by  Buddha  himself,  and  it  is  the 
view  which  Burnouf  derived  from  the  canonical  books 
of  the  Northern  Buddhists."1 

1  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  384. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  BUDDHIST  ORDER  OF  MONKS. 

ORDINATION  OF  THE  BHIKKHUS  OR  MONKS  —  RULES 
FOR  THEIR  DIRECTION  —  UNSANITARY  LAWS  —  UN- 
SANITARY CLOTHING — PROTECTION  FROM  VENOMOUS 
SERPENTS — THE  SERPENT  WHO  JOINED  THE  ORDER 

—  NUNS — BUDDHA'S  PROPHECY— RESULTS  OF  MONK- 
HOOD. 

rriHE  foundations  of  Buddhism  were  not  laid  upon 
•*•  the  sacred  hearthstone  of  pure  family  life;  on 
the  contrary,  he  admonished  his  followers  to  forsake 
their  wives  and  children,  abandon  their  homes  and 
form  themselves  into  an  Order  of  Monks.  This 
organization  was  not  a  hierarchy.  It  had  no  ecclesi- 
astical organization ;  its  first  head,  the  Buddha,  ap- 
pointed no  successor.  It  was  not  a  church,  and  it  had 
no  rite  of  ordination  in  the  true  sense.  It  was  a 
brotherhood,  in  which  all  were  under  certain  obliga- 
tions and  restraints,  and  were  pledged  to  the  propa- 
gation of  the  doctrine  that  all  life  was  misery,  whether 
on  earth  or  in  heavenr  and  that  life,  whether  in  pres- 
ent or  future  bodies,  could  only  be  avoided  by  a  long 
course  of  discipline.  The  founding  of  a  monastic 
brotherhood  of  this  kind,  which  made  personal  extinc- 

133 


134  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

tion  its  final   aim,    and   which   might    be    co-extensive 
with  the  world,  was  Buddha's  chief  aim. 

This  Order  began  with  ten  members,  but  its  growth 
was  rapid  and,  in  many  ways,  phenomenal.  It  is  true 
that  the  warfare  which  he  waged  against  marriage  ex- 
cited the  opposition  of  the  people.  They  complained 
that  the  practical  working  of  his  theories  destroyed 
family  life,  and  must  also  bring  destitution,  as  the 
monks  were  forbidden  to  work,  obtaining  their  living 
by  carrying  from  door  to  door  a  bowl  in  which  they 
received  scraps  of  food. 

Lay-brothers  and  lay-sisters  were  therefore  a  neces- 
sity. Married  householders  who  were  working  people 
were  actually  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  monks. 
The  formula  for  the  admission,  of  these  members  was 
extremely  simple,  being  merely  the  repetition  of  the 
following  words : 

"I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Buddha, 
I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Law, 
I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Order."  l 

It  was  understood  that  they  should  abstain  from  the 
five  gross  offenses  which  are  prohibited  in  the  first 
portion  of  the  decalogue,2  but  the  principal  test  of  loy- 
alty was  their  willingness  to  serve  the  monks.  They 
could  not  be  called  Buddhists,  however,  in  the  truest 
sense,  unless  they  entered  the  great  army  of  mendi- 
cants. 

ORDINATION    OF   THE    BHIKKHUS   OR    MONKS. 

Monks  were  received  into  the  Order  by  successive 
forms  and  ceremonies.  At  first,  of  course,  there  was 

i  Maha-v.,  I,  7,  10.  2  See  p.  125. 


THE   BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  135 

no  one  who  could  ordain  them  except  Buddha,  and  it 
was  sufficient  for  him  to  say :  "  Come,  follow  me." 
The  first  converts  were  monks  only ;  later,  however, 
the  three-refuge  formula,  as  given  above,  was  used  for 
both  monks  and  laymen.  After  this,  it  was  said  of 
converts  that  they  "obtained  the  spotless  eye  of 
truth,"  when  they  "obtained  the  knowledge  that 
whosoever  is  subject  to  the  condition  of  origination 
is  subject  also  to  the  condition  of  cessation."  This  is 
everywhere  repeated,  and  when  they  had  fully  mastered 
this  idea  the  Blessed  One  said  to  them  :  "  Come,  0 
Bhikkhns !  well  taught  is  the  doctrine ;  lead  a  holy  life 
for  the  sake  of  the  complete  extinction  of  suffering."1 
Still  later  the  ceremony  became  much  longer  and 
more  complicated.  The  candidates  were  catechised  in 
reference  to  their  health,  sex,  caste  and  financial  posi- 
tion. Also  in  reference  to  age,  name  and  condition  of 
robe  and  alms-bowl.  When  the  men  to  be  ordained  be- 
came disconcerted  and  could  not  answer  these  questions, 
Buddha  appointed  an  instructor  for  them.  When  the 
candidate  was  sufficiently  taught  to  enable  him  to 
answer  them,  he  was  told  to  adjust  his  upper  robe,  to 
raise  his  joined  hands,  and  to  ask  for  the  ordination 
by  a  prescribed  formula  three  times  repeated.  Then  a 
monk  formally  announced  that  the  candidate  was  free 
from  disqualifications  —  that  his  alms-bowl  and  robes 
were  in  due  state.  After  this  he  was  received  by 
vote.  "Then,"  said  Buddha,  "let  them  measure  the 
shadow ;  tell  the  newly  ordained  monk  what  season 
and  what  date  it  is — tell  him  the  whole  formula  and 
the  'four  resources/"  2 

i  Maha-v.  ,2,3.  2  Maha-v.,  I,  76, 1. 


136  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

THE    FOUR    RESOURCES. 

"I  prescribe,  0  Bhikkhus  !  that  he  who  confers  the 
upasampada  ordination  upon  a  Bhikkhu,  tell  him  the 
four  resources. 

"  '  The  religious  life  has  morsels  of  food,  given  in 
m  alms,  for  its  resource.  Thus  you  must  endeavor  to 
live  all  your  life.' 

"  '  The  religious  life  has  the  robe  made  of  rags, 
taken  from  the  dust-heap,  for  its  resource.  Thus  you 
must  endeavor  to  live  all  your  life.' 

"  '  The  religious  life  has  dwelling  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree  for  its  resource.  Thus  you  must  endeavor  to  live 
all  your  life.' 

"  'The  religious  life  has  decomposing  urine  for  its 
medicine.  Thus  you  must  endeavor  to  live  all  your 
life/"1 

There  were  extra  allowances  sometimes  given  be- 
sides the  "resources,"  as  meals  by  invitation  or  food 
distributed  by  ticket,  and  also  certain  articles,  such  as 
oil  and  molasses. 

At  that  time  a  certain  youth  came  to  the  Bhikkhus 
and  asked  them  to  ordain  him.  The  Bhikkhus  told 
him  the  four  resources  before  ordination,  whereupon 
he  refused  to  receive  the  rite.  When  the  fact  was 
told  to  Buddha,  he  answered  as  follows :  "  You  ought 
not,  0  Bhikkhus,  to  tell  the  resources  to  the  candi- 
dates before  their  ordination.  He  who  does  so  is 
guilty  of  a  dukkata  offense.2  I  prescribe,  0  Bhik- 

ilbid,  I,  30,  4. 

a  A  slight  offense  for  which  no  penance  was  required  except  confession. 


THE    BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  137 

khus,  that  you  tell  the  resources  to  the  newly 
ordained  Bhikkhus  immediately  after  their  upa- 
sampada." l 

RULES   FOR  THE    DIRECTION   OF  THE   MONKS. 

The  Patimokkha  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  all  the 
Buddhist  text-books.  The  name  seems  to  have  owed 
its  origin  to  the  ancient  Indian  custom  of  holding 
sacred  two  periods  in  each  month — the  times  of  the 
new  and  the  full  moon.  The  Saiigha  fraternity  made 
use  of  the  gatherings  at  these  meetings  for  confession. 
It  was  at  these  periods  that  each  monk  confessed  to 
the  assembled  Order  the  faults  he  had  committed  and 
received  penance  therefor.  The  directions  found  in 
the  Patimokkha  include  not  only  penalties  for  lying, 
stealing  and  other  immoralities,  but  the  most  trivial 
affairs  of  life  are  given  a  great  degree  of  importance. 
For  instance,  the  whole  of  the  second  section  is 
devoted  to  directions  concerning  the  rugs  of  the 
monks,  and  the  following  rules  are  a  sample  of 
others:  "Whatsoever  Bhikkhu  shall  have  a  rug  made 
of  pure  black  wool  or  goat's  hair  —  that  is  an  offense 
involving  forfeiture.  In  case  a  Bhikkhu  is  having  a 
new  rug  made,  two  parts  should  be  taken  of  black 
wool,  the  third  part  of  white,  and  the  fourth  brown. 
When  a  Bhikkhu  is  having  a  new  rug  made,  a  piece 
which  is  a  span's  width,  should  be  taken  from  around 
the  old  one.  If  he  has  one  made  without  taking  a 
span's  width  from  all  round  the  old  one  —  that  is  an 
offense  involving  forfeiture.  Whatsoever  Bhikkhu  shall 
get  a  goat's  wool  washed  or  dyed,  or  combed  out  by  a 

i  Maha-v.,  1,31,  3. 


138  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

Bhikshuni  (or  nun)  who  is  not  related  to  him  —  that 
is  an  offense  involving  forfeiture/'1 

Many  pages  are  devoted  to  the  proper  time  for 
receiving  robes,  the  way  they  should  be  made,  the 
length  of  time  they  should  be  worn,  and  many  other 
particulars.  They  should  be  made  of  rags  from  a  dust 
heap  or  a  cemetery,  or  if  of  new  cloth  it  must  be  torn 
into  rags  and  sewn  together.  "A  Bhikkhu  who  re- 
ceives a  new  robe  must  choose  one  of  three  modes  of 
disfigurement  —  either  making  a  part  of  it  dark  blue, 
or  marking  it  with  black  mud,  or  making  part  of  it 
black."2  Many  pages  are  also  devoted  to  the  rules  in 
relation  to  the  shoes  or  slippers. 

In  relation  to  women  the  rules  were  very  strict, 
the  monks  not  being  allowed  to  touch  a  woman's 
hand  or  walk  along  the  road  with  her  (except  under 
certain  conditions),  or  to  preach  the  Dhamma  to  her 
in  more  than  five  or  six  words,  "without  the  pres- 
ence of  a  man  who  had  arrived  at  the  years  of 
discretion."  The  grossest  breach  of  morality,  however, 
was  ranked  with  the  offense  of  having*  a  needle-case 
made  of  the  wrong  material  —  each  one  being  a  Pakit- 
tiya.3  These  offenses  range  in  their  gravity  with  the 
dukkata,  and  require  only  simple  confession.4 

UNSANITARY   LAWS. 

It  must  be  confessed  that,  in  some  respects,  the 
law  of  Buddha  was  very  far  from  being  sanitary. 

1  Patimokkha,  Sec.  iii,  17. 

2  Ibid,  Sec.  vi,  58. 

a  Compare  Aniyata  Dhamma,  2,  and  Pakittiya  Dhamma,  45  and  44,  with  86. 
4See  Kulla-vagga,  XI,  1,  10. 


THE   BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  139 

For  instance,  the  following  statement  is  made  in  the 
Maha-vagga:  "Now,  at  that  time,  a  certain  Bhikkhu 
had  a  disease  not  human.  He  went  to  a  place  where 
swine  were  slaughtered,  and  ate  the  raw  flesh  and 
drank  the  blood.  Thereby  his  sickness  was  abated. 
They  told  this  thing  to  the  Blessed  One,  and  he  re- 
plied :  *  I  allow,  0  Bhikkhus,  in  the  case  of  disease 
not  human,  the  use  of  raw  flesh  and  blood/"1 

"  Now,  at  that  time,"  again  says  the  Maha-vagga, 
"a  certain  Bhikkhu  had  jaundice."  On  this  occasion 
the  Buddha  prescribed  as  a  medicine  an  article  too 
revolting  for  description.2 

Although  the  killing  of  any  animal  or  insect  was 
strictly  forbidden,  still  there  is  frequent  mention  of 
the  eating  of  flesh,  and  on  one  occasion  it  was  charged 
that  "  Siha  has  killed  a  great  ox  and  has  made  a 
meal  for  Gautama ;  the  Gautama  knowingly  eats  of 
the  meat  of  an  animal  killed  for  this  very  purpose, 
and  has  thus  become  virtually  the  author  of  that  deed 
(of  killing  the  animal)/'  The  offense  seemed  to  con- 
sist in  eating  animals  when  the  monks  knew  that  they 
had  been  killed  purposely  for  them. 

"Let  no  one,  0  Bhikkhus,  knowingly  eat  meat  of 
an  animal  killed  for  that  purpose.  ...  I  pre- 
scribe, 0  Bhikkhus,  that  fish  is  pure  to  you,  if  you 
have  not  seen,  if  you  have  not  heard,  if  you  do  not 
suspect,  that  it  has  been  caught  specially  to  be  given 
you."3 

"At  that  time  the  king's  elephants  died  .  .  . 
when  the  Bhikkhus  came  and  asked  for  alms  they 

i  Maha-v.,  VI,  10,  2.  » Ibid,  VI,  14,  7.  a  ibid,  VI,  31, 13-14. 


140  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

gave  them  elephant's  flesh.  The  Bhikkhus  ate  that 
elephant's  flesh.  The  people  were  annoyed  and  be- 
came angry.  '  How  can  they  eat  elephant's  flesh  ? 
Elephants  are  an  attribute  of  royalty.  If  the  king 
knew  that,  they  would  not  be  in  favor/  They  told 
this  thing  to  the  Blessed  One.  'Let  no  one,  0  Bhik- 
khus, eat  elephant's  flesh ;  he  who  does  so  commits  a 
dukkata  offense.' 

At  that  time  the  king's  horses  died,  and  when  the 
Bhikkhus  asked  for  alms  they  gave  them  horse  flesh. 
Then  the  people  were  annoyed  .  .  ,  and  asked  : 
"  How  can  they  eat  horse  flesh  ?  Horses  are  an  attri- 
bute of  royalty.  If  the  king  knew  that,  they  would 
not  be  in  favor."  Then  they  told  this  thing  to  the 
Blessed  One :  "  Let  no  one,  0  Bhikkhus,  eat  horse 
flesh.  He  who  does  so  commits  a  dukkata  offense."1 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  these  cases  there  is  no  sug- 
gestion that  it  was  not  healthful  or  proper  to  eat  the 
flesh  of  animals  that  had  died  a  natural  death,  but  the 
offense  is  placed  upon  the  ground  that  the  king  would 
be  displeased  if  he  knew  that  they  had  eaten  of  ani- 
mals which  "are  an  attribute  of  royalty."  It  is  further 
stated  that  they  ate  dog's  flesh,  and,  again,  that  they 
ate  serpent's  flesh. 

"And  the  serpent  king  went  to  the  place  where 
the  Blessed  One  was  .  .  .  and  said  to  him :  '  There 
are,  Lord,  unbelieving  serpents  who  are  disinclined  (to 
the  faith),  these  might  do  harm  to  the  Bhikkhus, 
even  on  trifling  occasions.  Pray,  Lord,  let  not  their 
reverences  eat  serpent's  flesh.'  In  consequence  of  that 

l  Maha,  VI,  23.  10. 


THE   BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  141 

the  Blessed  One  thus  addressed  them  :  '  Let  no  one, 
0  Bhikkhus,  eat  serpent's  flesh.  He  who  does  so  com- 
mits a  dukkata  offense."1 

"They  ate  lion's  flesh,  then  the  lions,  attracted  by 
the  smell  of  lion's  flesh,  fell  on  them  in  the  forest. 
.  .  .  Let  no  one,  0  Bhikkhus,  eat  lion's  flesh.  The 
same  thing  is  repeated  in  the  case  of  a  tiger,  panther, 
bear  and  hyena.  In  each  case  they  are  admonished 
not  to  eat  the  food,  not  because  it  was  an  offense 
against  the  law,  but  because  the  animals,  attracted  by 
the  smell  of  their  kind,  attacked  the  monks.  There 
is  also,  in  these  sacred  Pali  texts,  a  story  of  a  monk 
who  was  sick,  and  wanted  some  broth  when  there  was 
no  meat  to  be  had.  Whereupon,  a  devoted  lay  woman 
cut  off  a  portion  of  her  own  flesh,  and  had  a  broth 
made  of  it  for  the  sick  man.2  In  case  of  snake-bite, 
the  monks  were  given  "ashes,  manure,  urine  and  clay." 

Again,  when  a  certain  monk  had  taken  poison, 
Buddha  prescribed  a  most  loathsome  decoction  to  be 
taken  into  the  stomach.3 

They  were  allowed  the  fat  of  bears,  of  fish,  of  alli- 
gators, of  swine  and  other  animals,  provided  it  was 
received,  mixed  and  cooked  at  the  proper  time.  "If 
the  fat  be  received,  0  Bhikkhus !  at  the  wrong  time, 
cooked  at  the  wrong  time,  mixed  at  the  wrong  time, 
and  then  taken,  the  Bhikkhu  is  guilty  of  three  duk- 
kata offenses." 

UNSANITARY   CLOTHING. 

Not  only  did  they  at  times  use  the  flesh  of  animals 
which  had  died  a  natural  death,  and  take  the  most 

i  Maha,  VI,  ?3,  13.          2  Maha-v.,  VI,  23,  3.          3  Ibid,  VI,  14,  0. 


142  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

disgusting  compounds  of  filth  for  medicine,  but  they 
were  allowed  to  go  to  cemeteries  for  their  robes.  The 
whole  of  section  four,  in  the  eighth  Khandhaka,  is 
devoted  to  the  proper  conduct  of  monks  toward  each 
other  during  their  visits  to  the  cemetery  for  that  pur- 
pose. At  that  time  a  party  of  monks  went  into  a 
cemetery  to  get  robes,  and  the  others  did  not  wait  for 
their  return.  Therefore,  they  refused  to  divide  the 
robes  with  those  who  did  not  wait  for  them,  but  the 
Buddha  ordered  them  to  divide  with  them.  At  an- 
other time,  two  parties  went  to  the  cemetery,  but 
only  those  who  arrived  first  were  fortunate  enough  to 
obtain  robes,  and  they  refused  to  divide  with  the  less 
fortunate  party.  On  this  occasion  Buddha's  decision 
was  as  follows :  "I  prescribe,  0  Bhikkhus !  that  you 
are  not  obliged  to  give  a  part  against  your  will  to 
those  who  have  gone  to  the  cemetery  later  than  your- 
selves/'1 Not  only  were  they  allowed  unsanitary  food 
and  clothing,  but  they  were  forbidden  to  bathe  at 
intervals  of  less  than  half  a  month,  except  on  special 
occasions. 

PROTECTION   FROM   VENOMOUS  SERPENTS. 

As  a  safeguard  against  the  bite  of  the  venomous 
serpents  which  infest  India,  Buddha  instructed  his 
monks  to  repeat  a  formula  in  which  they  declared 
their  great  love  for  the  four  breeds  of  royal  serpents. 

"Now  at  that  time  a  certain  Bhikkhu  died  of  the 
bite  of  a  snake.  They  told  this  matter  to  the  Blessed 
One.  'Now,  surely,  that  Bhikkhu,  0  Bhikkhus,  had 

Ubid,  VIII,  1,2,4;  1,5. 


THE   BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  143 

not  let  his  love  flow  out  over  the  four  royal  breeds  of 
serpents  !  Had  he  done  so  he  would  not  die  of  the 
bite  of  a  snake.  ...  I  allow  you,  0  Bhikkhus,  to 
make  use  of  a  safeguard  for  yourselves,  for  your 
security  and  protection,  by  letting  your  love  flow  out 
over  the  four  royal  breeds  of  serpents.  And  thus, 

0  Bhikkhus,  are  you  to  do  so: 

"I  love  (here  follow  the  names  of  the  four  royal 
breeds  of  snakes). 

"I  love  live  things  that  have  no  feet;  the  bipeds, 
too,  I  love. 

"I  love  four-footed  creatures,  and  things  with  many 
feet. 

"Let  no  footless  thing  do  hurt  to  me,  nor  thing 
that  has  two  feet.  .  .  .  Made  is  my  safeguard, 
made  is  my  defense.  Let  living  things  retreat  whilst 

1  revere    the   Blessed   One,    the    Buddhas,   seven,    su- 
preme." l 

This  early  statement  has  been  expanded  also  into 
Jataka,  in  which  all  the  verses  which  are  here  given, 
and  some  others,  are  used  as  a  snake  charm.2  In 
another  place  they  were  allowed  supports  to  their  beds 
as  a  protection  from  snakes,  but  they  were  forbidden 
to  have  them  more  than  eight  inches  high.3 

THE   SERPENT  WHO  JOINED  THE  ORDER. 

"At  that  time  there  was  a  serpent  who  was 
aggrieved  at  and  ashamed  of  having  been  born  as  a 
serpent.  Now  he  thought :  '  What  am  I  to  do  in 

1  Kulla-vagga,  v,  6,  1. 

2  Khandha-vatta  Jataka,  No.  203,  in  Prof.  Pausboll's  edition,  Vol.  JI,  pp. 
144-148. 

3  Kulla-vagga,  yi,  ?,  5. 


144  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 


order  to  become  released  from  being  a  serpent  and 
quickly  to  obtain  human  nature.  ...  If  I  could 
obtain  pabba^a  I  should  be  released  from  being  a 
serpent  and  quickly  obtain  human  nature/ 

"Then  that  serpent,  in  the  shape  of  a  youth,  went 
to  the  Bhikkhus  and  asked  them  for  the  pabba^a 
ordination ;  the  Bhikkhus  conferred  on  him  the  pab- 
ba^a  and  upasampada  ordinations. 

"At  that  time  the  serpent  dwelt  with  a  certain 
Bhikkhu  who  arose  at  dawn,  and  was  walking  up  and 
down  in  the  open  air.  When  the  Bhikkhu  had  left, 
the  serpent  thought  he  was  safe  from  discovery,  and 
fell  asleep  in  his  natural  shape.  The  whole  Vihara 
was  filled  with  the  snake's  body ;  his  windings  jutted 
out  of  the  window.  Then  the  Bhikkhu  thought :  '  I 
will  go  back  to  the  Vihara/  and  opening  the  door  he 
saw  the  whole  Vihara  filled  with  the  snake's  body  and 
the  windings  jutting  out  of  the  window.  Then  he 
was  terrified  and  cried  out,  bringing  his  friends  to  the 
scene. 

"Then  the  serpent  awoke  in  the  noise,  and  sat 
down  upon  a  seat.  The  Bhikkhus  asked  him  who  he 
was,  and  he  answered  :  '  I  am  a  serpent,  reverend  sirs/ 
and  told  them  the  whole  story,  and  they  told  it  to 
the  Blessed  One.  The  Blessed  One  ordered  the  fra- 
ternity of  Bhikkhus  to  assemble,  and  then  said  to  the 
serpent :  ( You  serpents  are  not  capable  of  spiritual 
growth  in  this  doctrine  and  discipline.  However,  ser- 
pent, go  and  observe  fast  on  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth 
and  eighth  day  of  each  half  month ;  thus  will  you  be 
released  from  being  a  serpent  and  quickly  obtain 
human  nature/ 


! 


THE   BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  145 

"  Then  the  serpent  shed  tears,  and  made  an  outcry 
and  went  away.  Then  the  Blessed  One  said  to  the 
Bhikkhus  :  '  Let  an  animal  that  has  not  received  the 
upasampada  ordination  not  receive  it ;  if  it  has  re- 
ceived it,  let  it  be  expelled  from  the  fraternity.'"1 

NUNS. 

Important  Buddhistic  authorities2  agree  that  women 
were  indebted  to  the  good  offices  of  Ananda  for 
the  privilege  of  taking  holy  vows.  Gautami,  who 
had  faithfully  nursed  the  Buddha  after  the  death  of 
his  mother,  besought  him  repeatedly  to  allow  women 
to  enter  the  order,  but  he  constantly  refused.  Such 
was  her  devotion  that  she  succeeded  in  gathering 
together  five  hundred  women,  who  shaved  their 
heads,  put  on  bhikshuni's  clothing  and  followed  him 
into  the  Natika  country,  coming  into  his  presence 
wearied,  ragged  and  covered  with  dust. 

Here  the  faithful  Gautami  again  presented  her 
plea,  but  only  to  be  refused  as  on  other  occasions. 
She,  therefore,  took  her  seat  outside  of  the  house  and 
wept.  It  was  there  that  Ananda  saw  her,  and  kindly 
inquired  the  cause  of  her  grief.  Upon  learning  it  he 
went  immediately  to  Buddha. and  presented  a  plea  in 
her  behalf. 

"Ananda,"  replied  Buddha,  "ask  not  that  women 
be  admitted  to  the  order;  for  if  women  enter,  the 
rules  of  the  order  will  not  last  long.  ...  If  a 
field  of  sugar  cane  is  blighted,  it  is  worthless,  good  for 
nothing ;  so  will  it  be,  Ananda,  if  women  enter  the 

i  Maha-vagga,  1, 63, 1.  a  Kulla-vagga,  X,  1,  3;  also  Vinaya-pitaka. 


146  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

order,  the  rules  of  the  order  will  not  last  long."1  He 
also  compared  women  to  the  five  kinds  of  dangerous 
serpents,  the  angry,  the  spiteful,  the  hating,  the  un- 
grateful, and  the  venomous.2  Nevertheless,  in  response 
to  Ananda's  repeated  pleadings  he  gave  Gautami  per- 
mission to  enter  the  order  if  she  complied  with  the 
following  rules  : 

1.  She  must  thoroughly   understand   the  nature  of 
a  bhikshuni  (or  nun). 

2.  A    bhikshuni    being    near   bhikshus   (or  monks) 
shall  be  taught  twice  a  month. 

3.  A  bhikshuni   shall  not  pass  the  period  of  was3 
in  a  place  where  there  are  no  bhikshus. 

4.  A  bhikshuni  during  was  shall  be  sufficiently  sep- 
arated from  the  bhikshus,  so  as  not  to  hear  them  or 
fear  proximity. 

5.  A  bhikshuni  by  words  reviving  recollections  shall 
not  damage  the  morals  of  a  bhikshu. 

6.  A  bhikshuni  shall  not  be  wrathful,  abusive,  nor 
do  anything  sinful. 

7.  A  bhikshuni  shall  confess  her  sins  to  a  bhikshu 
every  fortnight. 

8.  A  bhikshuni,   though  she    has  been  ordained   a 
hundred  years,  shall  always  speak  kindly  to  a  bhikshu, 
even  if  he  be  recently  ordained.     She  shall  honor  him, 
rise  up  before  him,  reverence  him,  and  bow  down   to 
him.4 

Gautami    accepted    these    conditions,   and    she    and 

1  Vinaya-pitaka,  f.  330a. 

2  Tibetan  Dulva,  X,  f .  1276. 

3  The  period  called  "*0as"  is,  in  Ceylon,  the  finest  part  of  the  year.    It 
includes  the  four  rainy  months  from  June  to  October. 

4  Dulva,  f.  331.    Also  Kulla-v.,  10,  1,  4. 


THE    BUDDHIST   ORDER   OF   MONKS.  147 

others  were  permitted  to  take  the  vows.  Afterward, 
however,  Ananda  was  bitterly  reproached  for  his 
agency  in  the  matter  of  having  an  order  of  nuns 
founded.  Kasyapa  is  represented  as  saying  to  him : 
"  Ananda,  thou  wast  the  Blessed  One's  close  attendant 
.  .  .  but  if  thou  sayest  that  thou  hast  done  no 
wrong  to  the  congregation,  how  comes  it  that  when 
the  Blessed  One  said  that  women  were  as  dangerous 
as  snakes,  and  said  it  would  be  wrong  to  admit  them 
to  the  order,  thou  didst  ask  that  they  might  be 
allowed  to  enter  it  ?  " 

"Bear  with  me  awhile,"  replied  Ananda.  "I 
thought  of  all  that  Gautami  had  endured,  and  how  it 
was  she  that  had  nursed  the  Blessed  One  when  his 
mother  died.  I  only  asked  that  women  who  are  rela- 
tives and  friends  might  enter  the  order  —  surely  that 
was  no  subject  of  shame." 

BUDDHA'S  PROPHECY. 

Although  he  had  given  permission  for  women  to 
take  the  vows  in  compliance  with  the  constant  en- 
treaty of  Ananda  and  the  woman  to  whom  he  was 
indebted  for  his  continued  existence  after  the  death  of 
his  mother,  still  Buddha  also  censured  Ananda  for  his 
part  in  the  matter,  and  it  was  upon  this  occasion  that 
Buddha  uttered  the  memorable  prophecy  that  his  doc- 
trine would  continue  only  five  hundred  years. 

"  If,  Ananda,  women  had  not  received  permission  to 
go  out  from  the  household  life  and  enter  the  homeless 
state  under  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Tatha- 
gata,  then  would  the  pure  religion  have  lasted  long, 


148  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

the  good  law  would  have  stood  fast  for  a  thousand 
years.  But  since,  Ananda,  women  have  now  received 
that  permission,  the  pure  religion,  Ananda,  will  not 
now  last  so  long,  the  good  law  will  now  stand  fast  for 
only  five  hundred  years."1 

RESULTS  OF   MONKHOOD. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Buddha  was  a  woman- 
hater  as  well  as  a  hater  of  the  marriage  covenant,  and 
his  Order  of  Monks  resulted  to  a  great  extent  in  moral 
disaster.  In  herding  men  together  and  depriving  them 
of  the  society  of  womanhood  for  life,  he  did  violence 
to  every  instinct  of  nature  and  invited  the  worst  of 
crimes. 

"Of  course  an  immediate  result  was  that,  although 
according  to  Buddha's  ordinance,  any  one  who  aimed 
at  perfect  sanctity  was  bound  to  live  a  celibate  life,  the 
rule  against  marriage  was  admitted  to  be  inapplicable 
to  the  majority  of  human  beings  living  in  the  world. 
The  mass  of  people,  in  short,  were  necessarily  offenders 
against  the  primary  law  of  Buddhism.  Though  called 
lay-Buddhists,  they  were  not  'wise  men'  in  the  Bud- 
dhist sense  of  the  term.  There  is  evidence  that  among 
certain  monkish  communities,  in  northern  countries, 
the  law  against  marriage  was  soon  relaxed.  It  is  well 
known  that  at  the  present  day  Lamaseries  in  Sikkim 
and  Tibet  swarm  with  the  children  of  the  monks, 
though  called  their  nephews  and  nieces.  And  far 
worse  than  this,  Buddhism  ultimately  allied  itself  with 
Tantrism,  or  the  worship  of  the  female  principle 

i  Kulla-vagga,  X,  1.  ft 


THE   BUDDHIST  ORDEK  OF   MONKS.  149 

(sakti),  and  under  its  sanction  encouraged  the  grossest 
violations  of  decency  and  the  worst  forms  of  prof- 
ligacy."1 

Scholars  have  called  attention  to  the  "collection  of 
moral  horrors  existing  in  some  parts  of  the  Parajika 
books  —  the  disgusting  detail  of  every  conceivable  form 
of  revolting  vice,  supposed  to  be  perpetrated  or  perpe- 
trable  by  the  monks."2 

"It  is,  indeed,"  says  Williams,  "one  of  the  strange 
phenomena  of  the  present  day  that  even  educated  peo- 
ple are  apt  to  fall  into  raptures  over  the  precepts  of 
Buddhism,  attracted  by  the  bright  gems  which  its 
admirers  delight  in  culling  out  of  its  moral  code,  and 
in  displaying  ostentatiously,  while  keeping  out  of 
sight  all  its  dark  spots,  all  its  trivialities  and  senseless 
repetitions;  not  to  speak  of  all  those  evidences  of  deep 
corruption  beneath  a  whited  surface  —  all  those  signifi- 
cant precepts  and  prohibitions  in  its  books  of  disci- 
pline, which,  indeed,  no  Christian  could  soil  his  lips  by 
uttering."3 

i  Williams,  B.,  p.  152. 

a  Ibid,  n.  p.  543.    Also  Columbo,  "  Nineteenth  Century,"  July,  1888. 

•  B.,p.  451. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EARLY   BUDDHIST  LITERATURE. 

LITERARY  ACTIVITY  IN  THE  EAST  —  THE  ART  OF 
WRITING — EXTENT  OF  THE  BUDDHIST  SCRIPTURES 
—  THE  DATE  OF  THE  CANON  —  THE  TRI-PITAKA — 
THE  VINAYA  TEXTS — CARE  OF  THE  BOWLS  —  TOOTH 
STICKS  —  THE  WONDERS  OF  BUDDHA — GREAT  EFFI- 
CACY OF  RECITATION  —  INTEGRITY  OF  THE  TEXT. 

rriHERE  was  a  period  of  great  intellectual  activity  in 
•A-  the  East  about  five  hundred  years  before  Christ. 
Within  a  few  decades,  before  and  after  this  date,  we 
find  many  prominent  teachers  and  also  kings,  who 
were  the  patrons  of  letters. 

Persia  had  her  Zoroaster,  and  under  Darius  a  col- 
lection of  texts  in  the  Aryan  language  was  made  and 
promulgated  throughout  the  empire.  The  Hebrews  had 
their  Daniel,  whose  influence  was  felt  at  the  court  of 
the  king,  who  held  him  captive ;  and  China  had  Con- 
fucius, who  was  the  exponent  of  her  laws.  Greece 
had  her  Pythagoras  and  her  Socrates,  while,  according 
to  Mitford,  no  Grecian  state  had  its  laws  put  in  writ- 
ing until  about  the  same  period. 

In  India  this  period  was  marked  by  the  formation 
of  the  Upanishads,  which  contain  the  doctrinal  portion 
of  the  Vedas,  and  it  also  witnessed  the  reformation  of 

150 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE.  151 

Buddha,  who  led  the  reaction  against  the  tyranny  of 
the  Brahmanic  priesthood.  Here  were  the  beginnings 
of  a  literature  radically  different  from  the  hymns  of 
the  Vedas,  although  Buddhism  is  largely  indebted  to 
the  philosophy  of  the  Brahmans. 

There  is  a  sublimity  in  the  early  Vedic  hymns 
which  is  lacking  in  most  of  the  later  productions,  and 
the  genuine  eloquence  which  is  sometimes  found  in 
the  extravagant  description  of  Buddhist  writers  too 
often  degenerates  into  coarse  or  commonplace  expres- 
sions. Still,  there  are  beautiful  thoughts,  which  are 
worthy  of  a  place  in  any  school  of  letters,  and  we  find 
also  many  admonitions  to  purity  of  thought  and  life, 
which,  although  not  original  with  Buddha,  belong  to 
the  universal  code  of  ethics. 

Various  portions  of  the  early  literature  of  Bud- 
dhism have  been  considered  in  the  foregoing  pages ; l 
there  should  be,  however,  some  classification  of  the 
books  belonging  to  the  sacred  canon. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  no  claim  of  inspiration 
is  made  for  these  writings.  This  would  have  been  in- 
consistent with  the  whole  tenor  of  the  teaching  of  a 
man  who  recognized  no  God  higher  than  himself. 
The  fact  that  these  maxims  and  traditions  were  taught 
for  generations,  by  recital  only,  may  account  for  the 
constant  repetitions  which  everywhere  meet  the  eye, 
and  were,  perhaps,  introduced  as  aids  to  the  memory. 

THE    ART   OF    WRITING. 

Max  Muller  claims  that  the  practice  of  writing 
"came  in  toward  the  latter  part  of  the  Sutra  period,"2 

l  See  pp.  45,  77,  85,  104.  a  Sutra  period,  about  500  B.C. 


18%  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

while  Oldenberg  and  Rhys  Davids1  argue  that  the  art 
was  unknown  in  India  during  the  age  of  Buddha, 
and  for  a  long  time  afterward.  This  statement  is 
questioned  by  Williams 2  and  others ;  still  it  is  certain 
that  for  some  time  after  writing  was  known,  it  was 
considered  desecration  to  make  use  of  it  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  sacred  books.  3 

Although  writing  may  not  have  been  commonly 
practiced  by  the  Hindus  at  this  time,  still  it  had 
been  known  in  India,  for,  during  the  reign  of  Ahasu- 
erus,  king  of  Persia  (who  has  been  identified  as 
Xerxes  I),  the  king  sent  a  written  proclamation  to 
the  Jews  who  were  in  his  dominions,  and  also  to 
"the  deputies  and  rulers  of  the  provinces  which  are 
from  India  unto  Ethiopia."  This  imperial  decree 
was  written  in  various  languages,  so  that  every  people, 
including  the  Jews  and  Hindus,  received  it  in  their 
own  language  and  according  to  the  writing  of  their 
own  province.4 

The  Buddhists  claim  that  their  scriptures  were  re- 
duced to  writing  in  the  first  century  before  Christ,5 
but  much  of  their  literature  has  been  produced  since 
then,  and  Fa  Hian  says  that  even  in  his  time  (about 
four  hundred  years  after  Christ),  the  various  masters 
handed  down  the  doctrines  by  word  of  mouth  through 
the  whole  of  Northern  India,  and  had  no  written 

iSa.  Bks.  E.    Vol.  XI,  p.  xxii. 

a  "The  art  of  writing  was  not  common  in  India  at  this  time,  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  accept  the  theory  of  those  who  claim  that  it  had  not  been  invented." 
—Williams,  B.,p.  19. 

3 "Those  who  sell  the  Vedas,"  says  the  Maha-bharata,  "  and  even  those 
who  write  them,  shall  go  to  hell." 

4Esth.  viii,  8-11. 

5  See  note  top.  43. 


EARL?    BUDDHIST   LITERATURE.  153 

copies  of  them.1  It  is  well  known  that  among  the 
Semitic  races  the  art  of  writing  was  understood  for 
hundreds  of  years  before  it  became  common  in  India.2 

EXTENT   OF   THE    BUDDHIST   SCRIPTURES. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  bulk  of  this  literature  has 
been  largely  overestimated.  Rhys  Davids  has  made  so 
thorough  an  examination  of  the  subject  that  he  has 
even  counted  the  words  in  a  portion  of  the  Sutras, 
and  based  his  conclusion  upon  a  careful  calculation  of 
the  whole.  "The  Buddhist  scriptures/'  he  says,  "in- 
cluding all  repetitions  and  all  those  books  which 
contain  extracts  from  the  others,  contain  rather  less 
than  twice  as  many  words  as  are  found  in  our  Bible, 
and  a  translation  of  them  into  English  would  be 

1  Fa  Hian,  Ch.  36,  q.  by  Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  240. 

a  See  the  early  Assyrian  tablets  and  also  those  of  Egypt.  In  the  winter  of 
1887  a  very  remarkable  discovery  was  made  among  the  mounds  of  Tel-el- 
A mania  In  Upper  Egypt.  It  was  here  that  clay  tablets  were  found  bearing 
inscriptions  In  the  Babylonian  language,  and  when  deciphered  and  trans- 
lated, they  proved  to  be  copies  of  letters  and  dispatches  from  the  kings  and 
governors  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  of  Syria,  Mesopotamia  and  Eastern 
Capadocla,  of  Phoenicia  and  Palestine.  These  Imperishable  documents 
prove  that  all  over  the  civilized  East,  in  the  century  before  the  Exodus,  active 
literary  intercourse  was  carried  on  through  the  medium  of  a  common 
language. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  throughout  Western  Asia,  schools  and 
libraries  must  have  existed,  in  which  clay  tablets  inscribed  with  cuneiform 
characters  were  stored  up,  and  where  the  language  and  syllabary  of  Baby- 
lonia were  taught  and  learned. 

Such  a  library  must  have  existed  in  tho  Canaanite  city  of  Kirjath-Sepher, 
or  '•  Book  Town  "  of  Judges  i,  12,  and  if  its  site  can  ever  be  recovered  and 
excavated,  we  may  expect  to  find  there  its  collection  of  books,  written  upon 
the  imperishable  clay. 

Many  dispatches  from  Palestine,  which  have  been  assigned  to  about  the 
fifteenth  century  before  Christ,  have  been  recovered,  translated  and  pub- 
lished. (See  "  Records  of  the  Past,"  edited  by  Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce,  Vol.  II,  pp. 
58-63.)  The  authenticity  of  the  cuneiform  dispatches  found  at  Tel-el- 
Amarna,  In  Egypt,  has  lately  received  an  unexpected  confirmation  from 
tablets  found  at  Tel-el-Hesy,  probably  the  Biblical  Lachish. 


154  PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

about  four  times  as  long.     Such  a  literature  is  by  no 
means  unmanageable."1 

"These  repetitions  are  so  numerous  that  without 
them  the  Buddhist  Bible  would  probably  be  shorter 
than  ours.  Thus,  the  whole  of  the  Dhamma-pada  and 
the  Sutta-nipata  are  believed  to  have  been  taken  from 
other  books ;  and  even  in  the  Nikayas  whole  para- 
graphs and  chapters  are  repeated  under  different 
heads;  the  Subha-Sutta,  for  instance,  contains  almost 
the  whole  of  the  Samana-phala  Sutta  and  a  great  part 
of  the  Brahmajala  Sutta."2  The  bulky  Kanjur  and 
Tanjur  of  the  Tibetans  has  been  sufficiently  translated 
to  establish  the  fact  that  the  principal  portion  of  the 
matter  was  a  translation  from  the  same  Sanskrit  orig- 
inals which  had  been  discovered  in  Nepal  by  Mr. 
Hodgson. 

THE   DATE   OF   THE   CANON. 

The  Buddhist  canon  has  only  been  traced  back  to 
the  first  century  before  Christ,  when  (as  the  Bud- 
dhists claim)  it  was  reduced  to  writing  in  Ceylon 
under  king  Vattagamani,  but  the  books  undoubtedly 
contain  much  older  matter.  The  Buddhists  suppose 
that  the  canon  was  settled  at  the  first  Council,3  or  soon 
after  the  death  of  Buddha,  being  then  handed  down 
by  oral  tradition  until  it  was  committed  to  writing. 

1  Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  19. 

2  Burnouf ,  Lotus,  448,  465.  note  5. 

3  This  assemblage  can  scarcely  with  any  fitness  be  called  a  Council.    Nor 
can  the  fact  of  its  meeting  together  in  any  formal  manner  be  established  on 
any  trustworthy  historical  basis.    .    .    .    There,  in  all  likelihood,  they  (the 
monks  who  were  gathered  together)  made  the  first  step  toward  a  methodical 
arrangement,  but  it  Is  doubtful  whether  any  systematic  collections  were 
composed.  —  William*,  p.  55. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE.  155 

But  there   are   many   difficulties    here,    and    the    chro- 
nological evidence  is  far  from  satisfactory. 

"The  evidence  on  which  we  have  to  rely,"  says 
F.  Max  Miiller,  "is  such  that  we  must  not  be  sur- 
prised if  those  who  are  accustomed  to  test  historical 
and  chronological  evidence  in  Greece  and  Rome  de- 
cline to  be  convinced  by  it.  As  a  general  rule  I  quite 
agree  that  we  cannot  be  too  sceptical  in  assigning  a 
date  to  ancient  books.  .  .  .  We  have  the  com- 
mentaries on  the  Pali  canon  translated  or  composed 
by  Buddha-ghosha,  who  confessedly  consulted  various 
manuscripts.  This  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  there  is  nothing 
improbable,  though  I  would  say  no  more,  in  supposing 
that  some  of  the  manuscripts  consulted  by  Buddha- 
ghosha  dated  from  the  first  century  before  Christ."1 

THE    TRI-PITAKA. 

The  sacred  canon  of  the  Buddhists  is  called  the 
Tri-pitaka,  or  the  "Three  Baskets,"  and  these  are 
composed  of  smaller  works.  The  first  basket,  or 
Vinaya,  contains  all  that  has  reference  to  morality. 
The  second  contains  the  Sutras,2  or  the  discourses  of 
Buddha.  The  third  includes  works  treating  on  a  vari- 
ety of  subjects — philosophy,  metaphysics,  discipline  and 
ethics. 

THE   VINAYA   TEXTS,    OR   FIRST   BASKET. 

These  texts  compose  the  "first  basket,"  and  they 
are  divided  into  three  sets  of  rules  : 

)  Int.  Dhamma-pada,  pp.  12-14. 

a  Sutras  In  Sanskrit;  the  Pali  word  is  Sutta,  and  the  words  are,  therefore, 
sometimes  used  interchangeably. 


156  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

1st.  The  Khandhaka  in  two  collections,  called  the 
Maha-vagga,  or  great  section,  and  the  TTulla-vagga,  or 
minor  section. 

2d.  The  Vibhanga,  or  systematic  arrangement,  and 
explanation  of  the  Patimokkha,  or  release  precepts. 
These  are  the  rules  for  setting  free,  through  penances, 
those  who  had  offended  against  the  order. 

3d.  The  Parivara-patha,  which  is  a  comparatively 
modern  summary  of  the  other  two  divisions. 

Extracts  have  already  been  freely  given  from  im- 
portant portions  of  the  Law,  and  these  early  texts  also 
devote  hundreds  of  pages  to  the  most  trivial  acts  in 
the  daily  life  of  the  monks.  For  instance,  much  space 
is  devoted  to  the  proper  care  of  the  bowls  in  which 
they  begged  their  daily  bread. 

CARE   OF  THE   BOWLS. 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  put  away  water 
in  their  bowls,  and  the  bowls  were  split.  They  told 
this  thing  to  the  Blessed  One.  'You  are  not,  O  Bhik- 
khus, to  put  away  your  bowls  with  water  in  them. 
Whosoever  does  so  is  guilty  of  a  dukkata  offense.  I 
enjoin  upon  you,  0  Bhikkhus,  to  dry  your  bowls  in 
the  sunshine  before  you  put  them  away/ 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  dried  their  bowls 
in  the  sunshine  with  water  in  them ;  and  the  bowls 
became  evil  smelling.  They  told  this  thing  to  the 
Blessed  One.  'You  are  not,  O  Bhikkhus,  to  dry  your 
bowls  in  the  sunshine  with  water  in  them.  Whosoever 
does  so  is  guilty  of  a  dukkata.  I  allow  you,  0  Bhik- 
khus, to  empty  out  the  water,  and  then  warm  the 
bowls  before  you  put  them  away/ 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE.  157 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  put  their  bowls 
away  in  a  warm  place,  and  the  color  of  their  bowls 
was  spoilt.  They  told  this  thing  to  the  Blessed  One. 
'You  are  not,  0  Bhikkhus,  to  put  your  bowls  away 
in  a  warm  place.  Whosoever  does  so  is  guilty  of  a 
dukkata.  I  allow  you,  0  Bhikkhus,  to  dry  your  bowls 
in  a  warm  place,  and  then  put  them  away. 

"Now  at  that  time  a  number  of  bowls  were  left  in 
the  open  air  without  supports,  and  the  bowls  were 
turned  over  by  a  whirlwind  and  broken.  They  told 
this  thing  to  the  Blessed  One.  'I  allow  you,  0  Bhik- 
khus, the  use  of  supports  for  your  bowls  when  they 
are  left  out.' 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  put  their  bowls 
away  at  the  edge  of  the  sleeping  benches  in  the 
verandahs,  and  the  bowls  fell  down  and  were  broken." 
When  they  told  this  to  the  Buddha  he  reproved  them 
in  the  same  formula  as  before. 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  hung  up  their 
bowls  on  pins  in  the  walls  or  on  hooks.  The  pins  or 
hooks  falling  down  the  bowls  were  broken."  In  this 
case  Buddha  reproved  them  as  before. 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  put  their  bowls 
down  on  a  bed  or  a  chair,  and  sitting  down  thought- 
lessly the  bowls  were  broken."  And  again  they  were 
reproved. 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  kept  their  bowls 
in  their  laps,  and  rising  up  thoughtlessly  they  upset 
them  and  the  bowls  were  broken."1  The  same 
formula  is  repeated  hundreds  of  times  in  relation  to 
the  most  trivial  matters. 


158  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

TOOTH    STICKS. 

Again  in  the  matter  of  tooth  sticks,  as  well  as 
other  trifles,  long  instructions  are  given ;  for  instance, 
the  following: 

"Now  at  that  time  the  Bhikkhus  did  not  use  tooth 
sticks,  and  their  mouths  got  a  bad  odor.  They  told 
this  matter  to  the  Blessed  One.  'There  are  five  dis- 
advantages, 0  Bhikkhus,  in  not  using  tooth  sticks;  it 
is  bad  for  the  eyes1  —  the  mouth  becomes  bad  smell- 
ing—  the  passages  by  which  the  flavors  of  the  food 
pass  are  not  pure  —  bile  and  phlegm  get  into  the  food 
—  and  the  food  does  not  taste  well.  These  are  the 
five  disadvantages  in  not  using  tooth  sticks.  I  allow 
you,  0  Bhikkhus,  tooth  sticks.' 

"Now  at  that  time  they  used  long  sticks,  and  even 
struck  people  with  them.  They  told  this  thing  to  the 
Blessed  One.  '  You  are  not,  0  Bhikkhus,  to  use  long 
tooth  sticks.  Whosoever  does  so  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
dukkata.  I  allow  you,  0  Bhikkhus,  tooth  sticks  up 
to  eight  finger  breadths  in  length.  .  .  . 

"  Now  at  that  time  a  certain  Bhikkhu  when  using 
too  short  a  tooth  stick  got  it  stuck  in  his  throat. 
They  told  this  matter  to  the  Blessed  One.  'You  are 
not,  0  Bhikkhus,  to  use  too  short  a  tooth  stick. 
Whosoever  does  so  shall  be  guilty  of  a  dukkata.  I 
allow  you,  0  Bhikkhus,  tooth  sticks  of  four  finger 
breadths  long  at  the  least/  "* 

i  It  appears  that  Buddha  actually  believed  that  the  use  of  tooth  picks  was 
good  for  the  eyes.    (See  note  1,  A'ulla-vagga,  v,  81.) 
ajSTulla-vagga,  V,  31, 1-2. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE.  159 

THE   WONDERS  OF   BUDDHA. 

These  early  Pali  texts  also  give  many  of  the 
"  wonders "  which  are  said  to  have  been  performed  by 
Buddha.  It  is  said  of  him  that  at  one  time  he  asked 
Kassapa  to  allow  him  to  spend  the  night  in  the  room 
where  the  sacred  fire  was  kept.  But  the  host  ob- 
jected, saying  there  was  a  venomous  serpent,  or  Naga 
king,  having  great  supernatural  powers,  which  occupied 
the  room.  When  Buddha  persisted,  however,  Kassapa 
gave  his  consent.  When  the  Blessed  One  entered  the 
room  the  snake  was  annoyed,  and  sent  forth  a  cloud  of 
smoke. 

Then  the  "chief  of  men"1  sent  forth  a  cloud  of 
smoke. 

Then  the  Naga  sent  forth  flames,  and  the  Blessed 
One  sent  forth  flames,  and  he  conquered  the  Naga, 
and  "leaving  intact  the  skin  and  flesh  and  bones  of 
the  Naga,  he  threw  him  into  his  alms  bowl  (from 
which  he  took  his  daily  food)  and  showed  him  to 
Kassapa,  saying :  '  Here  you  see  the  Naga,  his  fire 
has  been  conquered  by  my  fire.'"2 

Another  wonder  was  told  by  Buddha  himself  to 
Kassapa,  which  is  given  as  follows:  "I  had  rags, 
Kassapa,  taken  from  a  dust  heap  [with  which  he  was 
going  to  make  himself  a  robe],  and  I  thought: 
'Where  shall  I  wash  these  rags?'  Then  Sakka,  the 
king  of  the  devas,  understanding  the  thought  which 
had  arisen  in  my  mind,  dug  a  tank  with  his  hand, 

iThe  "chief  of  men,"  as  a  term  applied  to  Buddha,  is  more  literally 
rendered  "  the  snake  among  men.    See  Maha-vagga,  n.  1.  15,  6. 

a  This  account  has  been  greatly  condensed.    See  Maha-vagga,  1, 15,  3. 


160  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

and  said :  '  Lord,  might  the  Blessed  One  wash  the 
rags  here  ? ' 

"And  I  thought:  <  What  shall  I  rub  the  rags 
upon  ? '  Then  Sakka  put  a  great  stone  there  and  said : 
'  Lord,  might  the  Blessed  One  rub  the  rags  upon  this 
stone  ? ' 

"And  I  thought:  'What  shall  I  take  hold  of 
when  going  up  out  of  the  tank  ? ' 

"Then  a  deity  which  resided  in  a  tree  bent  down 
a  branch,  and  said :  '  Lord,  might  not  the  Blessed  One 
take  hold  of  this  branch  when  going  up  ? ' 

"And  I  thought:  ( Where  shall  I  lay  the  rags  (in 
order  to  dry  them)?7 

"Then  Sakka,  the  king  of  the  devas,  put  a  great 
stone  there,  and  said :  '  Lord,  might  the  Blessed  One 
lay  the  rags  on  this  stone  ?' 

"Then  Kassapa  thought:  'Truly  the  great  Saman 
possesses  high  magical  powers  and  facilities,  since 
Sakka,  the  king  of  the  devas,  does  service  to  him.'"1 
^ 

GREAT    EFFICACY    OF    RECITATION. 

These  early  texts  were  repeated  over  and  over  again; 
indeed,  the  daily  life  of  the  monks  began  with  a  reci- 
tation of  the  Law,  and  it  was  supposed  that  a  talis- 
manic  virtue  attended  the  sound  of  the  words. 

To  illustrate  the  great  meritorious  efficacy  of  the 
constant  intoning  of  the  words,  a  story  is  told  of  five 
hundred  bats  that  lived  together  in  a  cave  where  two 
monks  performed  their  daily  recitations.  These  bats 
gained  such  merit,  by  simply  hearing  the  sound,  that 

iMaha-vagga,  1,20,  1-7. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE.  161 

when  they  died  they  were  all  reborn  as  men  and 
ultimately  as  gods.1 

It  is  also  stated  that  a  certain  frog,  being  fortunate 
enough  to  hear  Buddha's  voice  while  he  was  reciting 
the  Law,  acquired  so  much  merit  thereby  that  he  was 
born  in  one  of  the  heavens.2 

It  is  faith  in  the  wonderful  efficacy  of  constant 
repetition  which  has  given  birth  to  the  prayer  wheels, 
which  are  supposed  to  repeat  certain  formulas  with 
every  revolution  of  the  wheel. 

INTEGRITY   OF. THE  TEXT. 

In  relation  to  the  integrity  of  the  early  Pali  texts 
from  which  the  foregoing  quotations  are  made,  the 
translators  express  their  opinion  in  the  following 
language : 

"Though  we  must  believe  that  the  Vinaya,  before 
it  was  reduced  to  writing,  was  handed  down  for  about 
three  hundred  years  solely  by  memory,  and  that  it 
lived  only  in  the  minds  of  the  Bhikkhus,  'who  were 
versed  in  the  Vinaya/  we  do  not  think  it  is  at 
all  necessary,  or  even  possible,  to  impugn  the  sub- 
stantial accuracy  of  the  texts  handed  down  in  a  man- 
ner that  seems  to  moderns  so  unsafe.  The  text,  as 
it  lies  before  us,  stands  so  well  against  all  proofs, 
whether  we  compare  its  different  parts  one  with 
another,  or  with  the  little  that  is  yet  known  of  its 
northern  counterparts,  that  we  are  justified  in  regard- 
ing these  Pali  books,  as  in  fact  the  authentic  mirror 
of  the  old  Magadhi  text,  as  fixed  in  the  central  schools 

I  Williams,  B,,  p.  557.  2  Hardy,  p.  392. 


162  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

of  the  most  ancient  Buddhist  Church."1  This  being 
true,  we  must  have  in  these  early  works  the  most 
authentic  teachings  of  Buddha. 

"We  also  have  in  the  Vinaya-pitaka  an  invaluable 
and  indisputable  record  of  the  mental  characteristics 
and  capabilities  of  these  earliest  followers  of  the  Bud- 
dhist faith. 

1  Sa.  Bks.  E.,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  xxxvi.    (Int.) 


CHAPTER  IX. 
EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,  CONTINUED. 

THE  SECOND  PITAKA  —  THE  MAHA-PARINIBBANA  SUT- 
TANA —  THE  PROXIMATE  CAUSES  OF  EARTHQUAKES 
—  THE  DHAMMA-PADA  —  PUNISHMENT  —  THE  SUTTA- 
NIPATA — THE  THIRD  PITAKA — THE  MAHA-YANA,  OR 
NORTHERN  SCHOOL  —  THE  BUDDHA-&ARITA-KAVYA  — 
THE  SUTRAS  OF  JAPAN — THE  AMITAYUR-DHYANA  — 
THE  VAGRAK-KHEDIKA —  THE  DOCTRINAL  TEACHING 
OF  THE  SUTRA — THE  PRAGNA-PARAMITA  —  THE 
TANTRA  LITERATURE  — STRIKING  CONTRASTS. 

THE   Second   Pitaka  contains  the  ethical  doctrines 
which  first  constituted  the  whole   Buddhist  law. 
It  is  a  collection  of  Sutras,  many  of  which  are  them- 
selves composed  of  smaller  works. 

The  most  important  of  these  books  are  the  Maha- 
parinibbana  Sutta,  or  Book  of  the  Great  Decease;  the 
Dhamma-pada,  or  Precepts  of  the  Law ;  the  Jatakas, 
with  their  commentaries;  the  Sutta-nipata,  or  collec- 
tion of  discourses;  the  Khuddaka-patha,  or  short 
readings,  verses  by  the  elder  monks,  and  verses  by  the 
elder  nuns.  We  have  also  the  Majjhima,  the  Sawyutta, 
the  Anguttara,  and  there  are  others  which  contain  the 
joyous  utterances  of  Buddha  at  different  crises  of  his 

life  or  treat  of  his  sayings. 

163 


164  PRIMITIVE  BUDDHISM. 

One  of  these  minor  Suttas  treats  of  the  mansions 
of  the  gods  which  move  about  at  will  and  sometimes 
descend  upon  the  earth,  and  another  gives  informa- 
tion concerning  departed  spirits. 

The  Niddesa  is  a  commentary  on  the  Sutta-nipata ; 
another  Sutta  treats  of  the  supernatural  knowledge  of 
the  Arhats,  and  we  have  also  the  Buddha-vansa,  or  his- 
tory of  the  twenty-four  Buddhas  who  preceded  Gau- 
tama, and  of  Gautama  himself.  Another  contains  stories 
which  are  based  upon  the  Jatakas  describing  Gau- 
tama's acquisition  of  the  ten  virtues  in  former  births. 

THE    MAHA-PARINIBBANA. 

This  is  one  of  the  longest  as  well  as  the  most 
valuable  of  the  Suttas,  and  it  is  considered  one  of  the 
oldest  parts  of  the  canon  except  the  Patimokkha.  It 
treats  of  the  death  of  Buddha  and  of  the  events 
which  shortly  preceded  it,  and  has,  therefore,  been 
considered  in  connection  with  that  subject.1  It  con- 
tains several  discourses  which  he  delivered  to  his 
followers,  some  of  which  have  been  given  in  the 
foregoing  pages.  As  might  be  supposed,  his  teachings 
here  were  often  a  repetition  of  the  doctrines  which 
he  had  previously  taught,  but  his  instructions  per- 
tained to  many  subjects.  For  instance,  a  short  time 
before  his  death  he  explained  to  Ananda  the  cause  of 
earthquakes.  The  following  is  his  solution  of  the 
problem : 

THE    PROXIMATE   CAUSES   OF   EARTHQUAKES. 

"Then  the  venerable  Ananda  went  up  to  the  place 
where  the  Blessed  One  was,  and  did  obeisance  to  the 

i  See  pp.  77,  80, 


EAKLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.       165 

Blessed  One,  and  seated  himself  respectfully  at  one 
side  and  said:  "Wonderful,  indeed,  and  marvelous  is 
it,  that  this  mighty  earthquake  should  arise.  .  . 
What  may  be  the  proximate,  what  the  remote  cause 
of  the  appearance  of  this  earthquake  ? ' 
^  "  Eight  are  the  prox^ate,  eight  the  remote  causes, 
Ananda,  for  the  appearance^  of  the  mighty  earthquake. 
This  great  earth,  Ananda,  is  established  on  water ;  the 
water  on  wind,  and  the  wind  rests  upon  space.  And 
at  such  a  time,  Ananda,  as  the  mighty  winds  blow, 
the  waters  are  shaken  by  the  mighty  winds  as  they 
blow,  and  by  the  moving  water  the  earth  is  shaken. 
These  are  the  first  causes,  proximate  and  remote,  of 
the  appearance  of  the  mighty  earthquake. 

"  Again,  Ananda,  a  Samana,  or  a  Brahman  of  great 
intellectual  power  who  has  the  feelings  of  his  heart 
well  under  his  control,  or  a  god,  or  a  fairy1  of  great 
or  mighty  power — when  such  an  one  by  intense  medi- 
tation has  succeeded  in  realizing  the  comparative 
value  of  things,  he  can  make  this  earth  move  and 
tremble  and  be  shaken  violently.2  These  are  the 
second  causes,  proximate  and  remote,  of  the  appear- 
ance of  a  mighty  earthquake. 

"Again,  Ananda,  when  a  Bodhisat  (or  future  Bud- 
dha) consciously  and  deliberately  leaves  his  temporary 

iThe  word  here  rendered  fairy  is  devata,  and  the  term  includes  gods  of 
all  sorts,  tree  and  river  nymphs,  the  kindly  fairies,  or  ghosts  who  haunt 
houses,  spirits  in  the  ground,  etc.—Oldenbergand  Davids. 

2  Buddha-ghosha,  the  Buddhist  commentator,  tells  a  long  story  in  rela- 
tion to  this  subject,  to  the  effect  that  the  nephew  of  Naga  Thera  attained 
Aratship  on  the  day  of  his  admission  to  the  order.  He  then  proceeded  to 
heaven,  and  standing  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  palace  of  the  king  of  the  gods 
he  shook  the  whole  place  with  his  great  toe,  much  to  the  annoyance  and 
consternation  of  the  exalted  dwellers  therein.-Sa.  Bkt.  K,  Vol.  XI,  n,  p.  46 


166  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

form  in  the  heaven  of  delight  and  descends  into  his 
mother's  womb,  then  is  this  earth  made  to  shake  and 
tremble  violently.  These  are  the  third  causes,  proxi- 
mate or  remote,  of  a  mighty  earthquake. 

"Again,  Ananda,  when  a  Bodhisat  deliberately  and 
consciously  quits  his  mother's  womb,  then  the  earth 
quakes  and  is  shaken  violently.  This  is  the  fourth 
cause,  proximate  and  remote,  of  the  appearance  of  a 
mighty  earthquake. 

"Again,  Ananda,  when  a  Tathagata  (or  Buddha) 
arrives  at  the  supreme  and  perfect  enlightenment,  then 
this  earth  quakes  and  is  shaken  violently.  This  is  the 
fifth  cause,  proximate  and  remote,  of  a  mighty  earth- 
quake. 

"When  a  Tathagata  founds  a  sublime  kingdom  of 
righteousness,  then  this  earth  ...  is  shaken  vio- 
lently. This  is  the  sixth  cause,  proximate  and  remote, 
of  a  mighty  earthquake. 

"  Again,  Ananda,  when  a  Tathagata  consciously 
and  deliberately  rejects  the  remainder  of  this  life 
.  .  .  this  is  the  seventh  cause  ...  of  the 
appearance  of  a  mighty  earthquake. 

"Again,  Ananda,  when  a  Tathagata  passes  entirely 
away  (or  dies)  with  that  utter  passing  away  in  which 
nothing  whatever  is  left  behind,  then  this  earth  .  .  . 
is  shaken  violently.  This  is  the  eighth  cause  of  the 
appearance  of  a  mighty  earthquake."1 

There  are  several  short  Suttas  of  minor  import- 
ance, some  of  which  have  been  quoted  in  the  preced- 
ing pages,  but  a  much  finer  literary  style,  as  well  as  a 
higher  grade  of  morality,  is  found  in  the 

i  Maha-pariuibbana  Sutta,  chap,  iii,  2. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,   CONTINUED.       167 

^r 

DHAMMA-PADA. 

It  is  thought  that  we  now  possess  this  work  in 
very  much  the  same  form  as  it  existed  in  the  fifth 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  that  the  original 
may  have  been  one  of  the  books  which  was  reduced 
to  writing  in  the  first  century  before  our  era,  having 
previously  existed  in  the  language  of  Magadha.  And 
although  all  Indian  manuscripts  are  comparatively 
modern,1  and  the  chronological  evidence  concerning 
them  quite  uncertain,  still  these  verses  may  be  treated 
as  those  which  the  early  Buddhists  believed  to  be  the 
utterances  of  their  founder. 

The  following  extracts  will  give  a  good  general 
idea  of  the  teaching  which  is  found  in  this  valuable 
work : 

PUNISHMENT. 

"All  men  tremble  at  punishment,  all  men  fear 
death ;  remember  you  are  like  unto  them,  and  do  not 
kill,  do  not  cause  slaughter. 

"All  men  tremble  at  punishment,  all  men  love 
life;  remember  thou  art  like  unto  them,  and  do  not 
kill. 

"He  who  seeking  his  own  happiness,  punishes  or 
kills  beings  who  also  long  for  happiness,  will  not  find 
happiness  after  death. 

"He    who    seeking    his    own    happiness,    does    not 

i  Mr.  A.  Burnell,  who  has  probably  handled  more  Indian  manuscripts 
than  anybody  else,  has  expressed  his  conviction  that  no  manuscript  written 
one  thousand  years  ago  is  now  existent  in  India,  and  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  find  one  written  five  hundred  years  ago,  for  most  manuscripts  which 
claim  to  be  of  that  date  are  merely  copies  of  old  manuscripts,  the  dates  of 
which  are  repeated  by  the  copyists.— Indian  Antiquary,  1880,  p.  233. 


168  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

punish  or  kill  beings  who  also  long  for  happiness, 
will  find  happiness  after  death. 

"Do  not  speak  harshly  to  anybody;  those  who  are 
spoken  to  harshly,  will  answer  thee  in  the  same  way. 
Angry  speech  is  painful,  blows  for  blows  will  touch  thee. 

"A  fool  does  not  know  when  he  commits  evil 
deeds ;  but  the  wicked  burns  by  his  own  deeds  as  if 
burnt  by  fire. 

"  He  who  inflicts  pain  on  innocent  and  harmless 
persons,  will  soon  come  to  one  of  these  ten  states.  He 
will  have  cruel  suffering,  loss,  injury  of  the  body, 
heavy  affliction,  or  loss  of  mind,  or  a  misfortune  com- 
ing from  the  king,  or  a  fearful  accusation,  or  loss  of 
relations,  or  destruction  of  treasures,  or  lightning  fire 
will  burn  his  houses,  and  when  the  body  is  destroyed 
the  fool  will  go  to  hell. 

"Not  nakedness,  not  platted  (or  matted)  hair,  or 
lying  on  the  earth ;  not  rubbing  with  dust,  nor  sitting 
motionless,  c~n  purify  a  mortal  who  has  not  overcome 
desires/'1  ' 

The  Jataka  and  their  commentaries  have  been  con- 
sidered in  the  foregoing  pages  and  copious  extracts 
have  been  given.2 

The  Buddha-vansa  gives  a  history  of  the  twenty- 
four  Buddhas  who  preceded  Gautama,  and  these  have 
been  briefly  examined.3 

THE    SUTTA-NIPATA. 

This  collection  of  discourses  is  an  important  contri- 
bution to  the  correct  understanding  of  Primitive  Bud- 

i  Dhamma-pada,  X,  129-141.  3  Twenty-four  Buddhas.    See  chap.  ii. 

a  See  pp.  45,  85,  104. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.       169 

dhism,  for  we  have  here  a  picture  of  the  lives  of 
hermits  before  monasteries  were  built. 

Buddha  here  teaches  that  all  family  life  and  all  as- 
sociation with  others  should  be  avoided. 

"As  a  beast  unbound  in  the  forest  goes  feeding  at 
pleasure,  so  let  the  wise  man,  considering  only  his  own 
will,  wander  alone  like  the  rhinoceros."1  Each  of  the 
forty-one  verses  of  one  of  the  Suttas2  ends  with  the 
words:  "Let  one  wander  alone  like  a  rhinoceros." 

In  the  Nipata,  Buddha  teaches  that  no  one  is  puri- 
fied by  philosophy  or  by  virtuous  works,3  only  by 
believing  in  Buddha  and  in  the  Dhamma.4  He  must 
become  what  Buddha  is,  and  what  then  is  he  ?  Bud- 
dha is  a  visionary  in  the  good  sense  of  the  word,  that 
is,  his  knowledge  is  intuitive.5  He  is  also  an  ascetic, 
one  who  forsakes  the  home  and  wanders  from  house 
to  the  houseless  state.6  An  ascetic  has  no  prejudiced 
views,7  he  has  shaken  off  every  philosophical  view,8 
he  is  not  pleased  nor  displeased  with  anything,9  he  is 
indifferent  to  learning,10  he  does  not  cling  to  good  and 
evil,11  he  has  cut  off  all  passion  and  all  desire.12  He 
has  reached  peace,  he  has  gone  to  the  unchangeable 
state  of  Nibbana.13  This  state  has  been  brought  about 
by  the  destruction  of  consciousness,14  by  the  cessation 
of  sensation,15  by  being  without  breathing.16 

Sin,  according    to    this    Sutta,  is    desire    in   all   its 

i  Sutta-nipata,  verse  38.  »  v.  813. 

a  The  Khaggavisana.  10  v.  911. 

3  Nipata,  v.  839.  n  W.  520,  547. 

4  VV.  185,  1142.  «  W.  2,  795,  916. 

5  W.  837,207.  13  v.  203. 

6  w   273,  375.  HW.  734,  735. 
?v.  802.  15  v.  1110. 
sv.787.  WV.  1089. 


170  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

forms,  especially  the  "  thirst  for  existence/'1  for  name 
and  form  —  individual  existence.2 

As  long  as  a  man  is  led  by  desire  he  will  be  whirled 
about  in  existence,3  but  desire  originates  in  the  body, 
and  consequently  the  human  body  is  looked  upon  as  a 
contemptible  thing,  one  whole  Sutta  being  devoted  to 
a  revolting  description  of  it.4 

Bliss  is  emancipation  from  the  body  and  matter. 
One  must  destroy  the  elements  of  existence  that  one 
may  not  come  to  exist  again.5  The  wise  hold  that 
there  is  nothing  really  existing,6  and  those  whose 
minds  are  disgusted  with  a  future  existence,  go  out 
like  a  lamp.7  As  a  flame  blown  out  by  the  wind 
goes  out  and  cannot  be  reckoned  as  existing,  even  so 
a  Muni,  delivered  from  name  and  body,  disappears 
and  cannot  be  reckoned  as  existing.8 

"  Exert  thyself,  then,  being  wise  and  thoughtful  in 
this  world,  let  one  having  listened  to  my  utterance 
learn  his  own  extinction,"9 

THE  THIRD   PITAKA. 

The  third  Pitaka  was  called  the  Abhi-dhamma 
(further  dharma),  or  additional  precepts  relative  to 
law  and  philosophy.  It  is  held  by  modern  scholars  to 
be  of  a  later  origin  and  supplementary  to  the  Suttas. 
It  is  composed  of  seven  small  prose  works  treating  of 
various  subjects.  The  first  is  an  enumeration  of  the 
conditions  of  existence;  the  second  is  devoted  to  "ex- 

iv.  1067.  8  v.  1069. 

2  vv.  354,  1099.  ?  vv.  234,  353,  354. 

v  3V.  740.  8V.  1073. 

*  See  the  Vlgaya.  9  v.  1061. 
ftvv.  1120,  1122. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.       171 

planations  ; "  the  third  contains  ' '  discussions  on  one 
thousand  controverted  points  ; "  the  fourth  claims  to 
be  an  explanation  of  personality ;  the  fifth  is  an  ac- 
count of  the  elements ;  the  sixth  treats  of  pairs,  and 
the  seventh  of  causes. 

THE   MAHA-YANA,    OR   NORTHERN   SCHOOL. 

Besides  these  numerous  works  which  constitute  the 
Tri-pitaka,  or  three  collections  of  works  of  the  South- 
ern Buddhists,  there  are  the  Pali  commentaries,  which 
were  translated  into  Singhalese,  according  to  tradition, 
by  Mahendra.  Afterward  the  original  Pali  text  was 
lost,  and  some  of  the  commentaries  were  retranslated 
into  Pali  by  Buddha-ghosha  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
and  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  of  our  era. 

The  Maha-yana,  or  "Great  Vehicle,"  cannot  be  said 
to  possess  any  true  canon  distinct  from  the  Tri-pitaka, 
though  some  Nepalese  Sanskrit  works  composed  in 
later  times  are  held  to  be  canonical  by  Northern  Bud- 
dhists. >*  The  formation  of  a  Northern  School,  as 
distinct  from  the  Southern,  followed  the  conversion  of 
Kanishka,  the  Indo-Scythian  king  of  Kashmir,  who 
came  from  the  North  and  became  a  zealous  Buddhist. 
He  probably  reigned  in  the  second  half  of  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era.  It  was  during  his  reign 
that  a  fourth  Council  was  held,  which  consisted  of  five 
hundred  monks.  These  men  composed  three  Sanskrit 
works,  which  were  commentaries  on  the  three  Pali 
pitakas.  These  were  the  earliest  books  of  the  Maha- 
yana,  or  Northern  School,  which  afterward  formulated 
its  doctrines  on  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  while  the 


172  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

Pali  canon  of  the  South  represented  the  true  doctrine 
promulgated  on  the  Ganges. 

Kashmir  was  a  center  of  Sanskrit  learning,  and 
Kanishka,  who  was  its  patron,  sustained  to  Northern 
Buddhism  about  the  same  relation  which  Asoka  had 
borne  to  the  Southern  element.  Therefore,  in  time, 
other  books  of  Northern  Buddhism  were  written  in 
Sanskrit,  with  occasional  stanzas  which  were  partly  in 
Sanskrit  and  partly  in  Prakrit.1 

THE   BUDDHA-&ARITA-KAVYA. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  works  of  the 
Northern  School,  and  it  is  claimed  that  the  author 
was  the  contemporary  and  spiritual  adviser  of  Ka- 
nishka.  It  contains  an  account  of  the  life  of  Buddha, 
and  is  in  many  points  quite  in  harmony  with  other 
Buddhistic  works  on  this  subject.  For  instance,  in 
relation  to  the  conception  of  Gautama,  it  is  said  of 
him:  "Assuming  the  form  of  a  huge  elephant,  white 
like  Himalaya,  armed  with  six  tusks,  with  his  face 
perfumed  with  the  flowing  ichor,  he  entered  the  womb 
of  the  queen  of  king  Suddhodana,  to  destroy  the  evils 
of  the  world."  This  work  also  describes  the  revolting 
scene  in  the  harem,  which  is  given  by  many  Bud- 
dhistic authorities  as  a  potent  influence  in  deciding 
Buddha  to  leave  his  home.  There  is  no  mention  here 
of  any  farewell  look  at  his  wife  and  child ;  indeed, 
his  wife  is  not  spoken  of  at  all  until  the  return  of 
the  horse  and  groom,  when  she  joins  in  the  loud  wail 
of  the  other  women,  and  complains  that  her  husband 

1  Williams,  B.,  p.  68. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.       173 

left  her  "helplessly  asleep  in  the  night,"  and  even 
accuses  the  horse  of  treachery  and  dishonorable  con- 
duct in  bearing  him  away. 

She  also  here  bemoans  his  great  personal  beauty, 
and  her  description  of  his  person  is  in  harmony  with 
other  early  accounts.  She  alludes  to  his  feet  in  the 
following  language :  "  Those  two  feet  of  his,  tender, 
with  their  beautiful  web  spread  between  the  toes 
.  .  .  how  can  they  (bearing  a  wheel  in  the  middle) 
walk  on  the  hard  ground  of  the  skirts  of  the  forest?" 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  she  also  cites  the  fact  that  other 
monarchs  have  led  faithful  religious  lives  without  de- 
serting their  families,  and  expresses  a  wish  to  share 
his  penance  and  privations  as  others  had  allowed  their 
wives  to  do. 

"He  wishes  to  practice  a  religious  life  after  aban- 
doning me,  his  lawful  wife,  widowed.  Where  is  his 
religion,  who  wishes  to  follow  penance,  without  his 
lawful  wife  to  share  it  with  him?  ...  He  surely 
never  heard  of  the  monarchs  of  olden  time,  his  own 
ancestors  .  .  .  how  they  went  with  their  wives 
into  the  forest  —  that  he  wishes  to  follow  a  religious 
life  without  me.  ...  He  does  not  see  that  hus- 
band and  wife  are  both  consecrated  in  sacrifices 
.  .  .  and  both  destined  to  enjoy  the  same  results 
afterward — he,  therefore,  grudges  me  a  share  in  his 
merit."1 

In  this  n ..  J:  of  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century 
of  the  Christian  era  the  temptation  of  Mara  is  given, 
though  it  is  omitted  in  some  earlier  texts,  and  the 

i  Bk.,  viii,  62, 63. 


174  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

description  of  the  contest  is  much  like  the  one  which 
has  been  given  in  the  foregoing  pages.1 

The  Lalita  Vistara  is  also  a  standard  work  of  the 
Northern  School,  but  it  has  been  previously  considered 
in  connection  with  the  life  of  Buddha.2 

THE   SUTBAS   OF   JAPAN. 

A  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Japan  are  Bud- 
dhists, and  about  one-third  of  these  belong  to  the 
Shin-shiu  sect.  The  books  upon  which  they  found 
their  faith  are  the  two  Sukhavati-vyuhas,  the  large 
and  the  small,  and  the  Amitayur-dhyana-sutra.  They 
are  sometimes  called  the  Large  Sutra,  the  Small  Sutra, 
and  the  Sutra  of  Meditation.  The  same  three  books 
also  form  the  chief  authority  of  the  6rodoshiu  sect. 

The  followers  of  this  sect  claim  that  in  the  third 
century  an  Indian  student  came  to  China  and  trans- 
lated the  larger  of  these,  and  still  later3  another 
teacher  came  and  translated  the  other  two.  The 
Larger  and  Smaller  Sutras  differ  with  each  other  on 
several  points,  but  the  most  important  variation  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  Smaller  Sutra  lays  great 
stress  on  the  fact  that  people  can  be  saved,  or  can  be 
born  in  the  Land  of  Bliss,  if  only  they  remember  and 
repeat  the  name  of  Buddha  Amitabha4  two,  three,  four 
or  more  nights  before  their  death,  and  it  distinctly 
denies  that  people  are  born  in  the  Paradise  of  Ami- 

i  See  p.  56.  2  See  p.  44. 

3  In  the  year  400  A.  D.  Buddhism  was  introduced  into  Japan,  by  way  of 
Corea,  in  552  A.  D. 

*  Amitabha  was  represented  by  Buddha  Gautama  as  one  of  the  Buddhas 
who  preceded  him.  (See  Larger  Sukhavati-vyuha,  Int.  p.  10.) 


EARLY   BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.        175 

tabha  as  a  reward   or  necessary  result   of   good  works 
performed  in  this  present  life.1 

"This/'  says  Prof.  F.  Max  Miiller,  "would  seem 
to  take  away  one  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Bud- 
dhism, namely,  the  doctrine  of  karman,  or  of  the 
continuous  working  of  our  deeds,  whether  good  or  bad. 
.  .  .  The  Larger  Sutra  also  lays  great  stress  on 
prayer  and  faith  in  Amitabha,  but  it  never  neglects 
'the  stock  of  merit  '  necessary  for  salvation.  It  would 
almost  seem  as  if  this  popular  and  easy  doctrine  had 
secured  to  itself  the  name  of  Maha-yana,  as  meaning 
'the  broad  way*  in  opposition  to  the  Hina-yana."2 

THE   AMITAYUR-DHYANA,    OR   SUTRA   OF  MEDITATION. 

An  outline  of  this  work  may  be  briefly  given  as 
follows:  "Vaidehi,  seeing  the  wicked  actions  of  her 
son,  began  to  feel  weary  of  this  world.  Gautama  then 
taught  her  how  to  be  born  in  the  pure  land,  enumer- 
ating three  kinds  of  good  actions.  The  first  is  worldly 
goodness,  which  includes  good  actions  in  general,  such 
as  filial  piety,  respect  of  elders,  loyalty  and  faithful- 
ness. The  second  is  the  goodness  of  morality,  and  all 
those  who  do  not  oppose  the  general  rule  of  reproving 
wickedness  and  exhorting  to  the  practice  of  virtue  are 
included  in  this  goodness.  The  third  is  the  goodness  of 
practice,  which  includes  the  four  truths  and  the  six  per- 

i  Sanghavarman's  translation  of  the  18,  20  and  21,  is  as  follows  :  "  When 
I  have  attained  Buddhahood,  if  those  who  are  in  the  ten  quarters  believe  in 
me  and  wish  to  be  born  in  my  country,  and  should  have  thought  of  me  ten 
times  (or  repeated  my  name)  ,  if  they  should  not  be  born  there,  may  I  not 
obtain  perfect  knowledge  ;  barring  only  those  who  have  committed  the  five 
deadly  sins,  and  who  have  spoken  evil  of  the  good  Law."—  Note  by  Bunyiu 


a  Larger  Sukhavati-vyuha,  Int.  p.  9. 


176  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

fections.  Much  of  this  Sutra  is  devoted  to  instructions 
concerning  the  proper  method  of  meditation.  In  rela- 
tion to  Buddha  Amitayus  the  directions  are  as  follows : 

"Further,  when  this  perception  is  gained,  you 
should  next  proceed  to  meditate  on  the  bodily  marks1 
and  the  light  of  Buddha  Amitayus. 

"Thou  shouldst  know,  0  Ananda,  that  the  body 
of  Buddha  Amitayus  is  a  hundred  thousand  million 
times  as  bright  as  the  color  of  the  gold  of  the 
heavenly  abode  of  Yama.  The  height  of  that  Buddha 
is  six  hundred  thousand  niyutas  of  kotis2  of  yojanas, 
innumerable  as  are  the  sands  of  the  river  Ganga. 

"The  white  twist  of  hair  between  the  eyebrows,  all 
turning  to  the  right,  is  just  like  the  five  Sumeru 
mountains. 

"The  eyes  of  Buddha  are  like  the  water  of  the 
four  great  oceans. 

"All  the  roots  of  hair  of  his  body  issue  forth  brill- 
iant rays  which  are  also  like  the  Sumera  mountains. 

"The  halo  of  that  Buddha  is  like  a  hundred  mill- 
ion of  niyutas  of  kotis,  innumerable  as  the  sands  of 
the  Ganga ;  each  of  these  Buddhas  has  for  attendants 
a  great  assembly  of  numberless  Bodhisattas,  who  are 
also  miraculously  created. 

"  Buddha  Amitayus  has  eighty-four  thousand  signs 
of  perfection,  each  sign  is  possessed  of  eighty-four 
minor  marks  of  excellence,  each  mark  has  eighty -four 

1A11  the  Buddhas  were  possessed  of  these  bodily  marks  of  perfection. 
See  page  48. 

2  The  numbers  in  Buddhist  literature,  when  they  exceed  a  koti  or  ten 
millions,  become  very  vague,  nor  is  their  value  always  the  same.  Ayuta 
represents  a  hundred  kotis  ;  niyuta  represents  a  hundred  ayutas,,  (See 
Smaller  Sukhavati-vyuha,  p.  91.)  A  yojana,  four  or  more  miles. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.       177 

thousand  rays,  each  ray  extends  so  far  as  to  shine  over 
the  worlds  of  the  ten  quarters,  whereby  Buddha  em- 
braces and  protects  all  the  beings  who  think  upon  him, 
and  does  not  exclude  any."1 

THE   VAGRAKKHEDIKA   OR   DIAMOND   CUTTER. 

This  is  a  metaphysical  treatise,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
most  highly  valued  works  in  Buddhist  literature.  The 
name  has  sometimes  been  rendered  "The  Perfection 
of  Wisdom."  The  Tibetans  value  it  very  highly,  and 
many  copies  have  been  made. 

"Translated  literally  into  English,"  says  F.  Max 
Miiller,  "it  must  often  strike  the  reader  as  sheer  non- 
sense and  hollow  repetition. 

"  Nor  can  anything  be  said  in  defense  of  the  form 
or  style  adopted  in  this  treatise  by  the  Buddhist  phi- 
losophers, who  wished  to  convince  their  hearers  of  the 
truth  of  their  philosophy.  This  philosophy,  or,  at  least, 
its  underlying  doctrine,  is  not  unknown  to  us.  It  is 
simply  a  denial  of  the  reality  of  the  phenomenal 
world."2 

The  doctrine  of  metaphysics,  which  is  here  taught, 
has  been  presented  in  the  foregoing  pages,3  and  the 
value  placed  upon  these  Gathas  may  be  learned  from 
the  following  extract": 

"Bhagavat  said:  'What  do  you  think,  0  Subhuti, 
if  there  were  as  many  Ganga  rivers  as  there  are  grains 
of  sand  in  the  large  river  Ganga,  would  the  grains  of 
sand  be  many  ? ' 

"Subhuti  said:     'Those  Ganga  rivers  would,  indeed, 

i  Amitayur-dhyana-sutra,  Sec.  18.  3  See  p.  184. 

a  Int.  Vagrakkhedika,  p.  14. 


178  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

be  many,  much  more,  the  grains  of  sand  in  those 
Ganga  rivers.' 

"Bhagavat  said:  'I  tell  you,  0  Subhuti!  I  an- 
nounce to  you  if  a  man  or  woman  were  to  fill  with 
the  seven  treasures,  as  many  worlds  as  there  would  be 
grains  of  sand  in  those  Ganga  rivers,  and  present  them 
as  a  gift  to  the  holy  Tathagatas;  what  do  you  think, 
0  Subhuti !  would  that  man  or  woman,  on  •  the 
strength  of  this,  produce  a  large  stock  of  merit  ? ' 

"  Subhuti  said  :  '  Yes,  0  Bhagavat,  that  man  or 
that  woman  would,  on  the  strength  of  this,  produce 
a  large  stock  of  merit,  immeasurable  and  innumerable/ 

"Bhagavat  said:  'And  if,  0  Subhuti,  a  woman 
or  man,  having  filled-  so  many  worlds  with  the  seven 
treasures,  should  give  them  as  a  gift  to  the  holy  and 
enlightened  Tathagatas,  and  if  another  son  or  daugh- 
ter of  a  good  family,  after  taking  from  this  treatise 
of  the  Law  one  Gatha  of  four  lines  only,  should  fully 
teach  others  and  explain  it,  he,  indeed,  would,  on  the 
strength  of  tnis,  produce  a  larger  stock  of  merit,  im- 
measurable and  innumerable/"1 

DOCTRINAL  TEACHING   OF  THE   SUTRA. 

The  metaphysics  which  form  the  basis  of  the 
teaching  of  this  work  may  be  better  understood  from 
the  following  extract : 

"0  Bhagavat,  knowledge  has  been  produced  in  me. 
Never,  indeed,  0  Bhagavat,  has  such  a  teaching  of 
the  Law  been  heard  by  me  before.  Those  Bodhisattas 
will  be  endowed  with  the  highest  wonder2  who,  when 

1  Vagrakkhedika,  XI. 

2  Will  possess  miraculous  powers  and  will  be  admired. 


EARLY    BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.        179 

this  Sutra  is  being  preached,  hear  it,  and  will  frame 
to  themselves  a  true  idea.  And  why  ?  Because  what 
is  a  true  idea,  is  'not  a  true  idea.  .  .  .  But,  0 
Bhagavat,  there  will  not  arise  in  them  any  idea  of  a 
self,  any  idea  of  a  being,  of  a  living  being,  or  a 
person,  nor  does  there  exist  for  them  any  idea  or  no 
idea.  And  why  ?  Because  the  blessed  Buddhas  are 
freed  from  all  ideas/  .  .  . 

"  0  Subhuti,  I  remember  the  past  five  hundred 
births  when  I  was  a  preacher  of  endurance.  At  that 
time  also  I  had  no  idea  of  a  self,  of  a  being,  of  a 
living  being,  of  a  person. 

"  Therefore,  then,  0  Subhuti,  a  noble-minded  Bod- 
hisatta,  after  putting  aside  all  ideas,  should  raise  his 
mind  to  the  highest  perfect  knowledge. 

"  He  should  frame  his  mind  so  as  not  to  believe 
in  form,  sound,  smell,  taste,  or  anything  that  can  be 
touched,  in  something,  in  nothing,  or  anything. 

"And  why?  Because  what  is  believed,  is  not  be- 
lieved. Therefore,  the  Tathagata  preaches:  'A  gift 
should  not  be  given  by  one  who  believes  in  form, 
sound,  smell,  taste,  or  anything  that  can  be 
touched/"1 

THE    PRAGNA-PARAMITA    (TRANSCENDENT    WISDOM). 

The  Sutra,  although  very  brief,  is  said  to  be  really 
the  most  popular  and  one  of  the  most  important  of 
all  the  sacred  texts  upon  which  Buddhism  takes  its 
stand  in  Japan.  This  treatise  of  the  Law  is  to  be 
seen  everywhere  on  shrines,  temples  and  monasteries, 

iVagrakkhedika,XIV. 


180  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

although  probably  more  admired  than  understood  by 
the  masses  of  the  people.  The  same  eulogy  is  pro- 
nounced upon  its  value  as  that  previously  given  in 
relation  to  the  Diamond-cutter,  and  in  nearly  the  same 
language.  Although  it  is  spoken  of  in  the  singular 
number,  it  is  really  composed  of  two  Sutras,  the 
larger  and  the  smaller. 

As  they  both  teach  the  same  doctrine  of  meta- 
physics, and  the  smaller  merely  repeats  the  ideas  of 
the  other,  the  following  extract  from  the  larger  will 
give  a  very  definite  idea  of  both : 

"If  the  son  or  daughter  of  a  family  wishes  to  per- 
form the  study  of  the  deep  Pra^na-paramita,  he  must 
think  thus :  '  There  are  five  Skandhas,1  and  these,  he 
considered  by  their  nature,  empty.  Form  is  emptiness, 
and  emptiness,  indeed,  is  form.  .  .  .  What  is 
form,  that  is  emptiness ;  what  is  emptiness,  that  is 
form.  .  . 

"Thus,  O  Sariputra,  all  things  have  the  character 
of  emptiness  .  .  .  they  are  faultless,  and  not 
faultless;  they  are  not  imperfect,  and  not  perfect. 
Therefore,  here  in  emptiness  there  is  no  form,  no 
perception,  no  eye,  ear,  nose,  body,  mind.  .  .  . 

i  Every  being  is  composed  of  five  constituent  elements,  called  Skandhas, 
and  these  are  continually  combining,  dissolving  and  recombining.  They 
are:  1.  Form  (the  organized  body).  2.  Sensation.  3.  Perception.  4. 
Aggregate  of  formations  (a  combination  of  properties,  faculties  or  mental 
tendencies,  fifty-two  in  number).  5.  Consciousness  or  thought.  This  is  the 
most  important,  and  is  the  only  soul  recognized  by  Buddhists.  It  was  this 
view  which  enabled  Buddha  to  teach  transmigration  while  denying  the  ex- 
istence of  any  spirit  separate  from  the  body,  for  although  when  a  man  dies 
all  these  elements  are  dissolved,  yet  by  the  force  resulting  from  his  actions, 
combined  with  the  sin  of  "  clinging  to  existence,"  a  new  set  of  five,  of 
which  consciousness  is  still  the  dominant  faculty,  starts  into  being,  and  a 
new  creature  is  immediately  created. 


EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,    CONTINUED.       181 

There  is  no  knowledge,  no  obtaining,  or  not  obtaining 
of  Nirvana.  But  when  the  envelopment  of  conscious- 
ness has  been  annihilated,  then  he  becomes  free  from 
all  fear,  beyond  the  reach  of  change,  enjoying  the  final 
Nirvana."1 

THE  TANTRA   LITERATURE. 

"The  Tantra  literature  has  also  had  its  growth 
and  development,  and  some  unhappy  scholar  of  a 
future  age  may  have  to  trace  its  loathsome  history. 
.  .  .  The  nauseous  taste  repelled  even  the  self- 
sacrificing  industry  of  Burnouf  when  he  found  the 
later  Tantra  books  to  be  as  immoral  as  they  were 
absurd.  'The  pen/  he  says,  ' refuses  to  transcribe 
doctrines  as  miserable  in  respect  to  form  as  they  are 
odious  and  degrading  in  respect  to  meaning/  "2 

[^-  STRIKING   CONTRASTS. 

There  is  probably  no  other  collection  .of  sacred 
books  in  the  world  which  presents  such  peculiar  and 
forcible  contrasts  as  do  those  of  Buddhism.  Scholars 
have  repeatedly  noted  "the  feeble  utterances,  the 
tedious  diffuseness,  and,  I  might  almost  say,  the  f  inane 
twaddle'  and  childish  repetitions  of  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  Tri-pitaka," 3  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  Dhamma-pada  and  portions  of  some  other  books 
contain  gems  of  thought  and  beauty  of  expression 
which  will  compare  favorably  with  the  literary  stand- 

i  Larger  Pragna-paramita. 

a  Rhys  Davids,  B.,  p.  208.  Burnouf,  Int.  p.  588.  The  secret  Tantric  doc- 
trines are  found  in  the  seventh  division  of  the  enumeration  of  the  nine 
Nepalese  canonical  scriptures. 

3 See  Williams,  B.,  p.  558;  also  Max  Miiller  (Int.  Vagrakkhedika,  p.  14), 
and  many  others. 


182  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

ards  of  any  people.  The  contrast  is  forcible,  not  only 
in  relation  to  the  style  of  the  books  in  question,  but 
there  is  also  a  pure  literature  and  that  which  is 
notably  impure.1  We  find  in  some  of  the  books  of 
Buddhism  an  exalted  morality,  and  admonitions  to 
purity  of  thought,  word  and  deed.  These  works  also 
inculcate  the  duties  of  charity,  self-sacrifice  and  be- 
nevolence. 

It  is  entirely  natural  for  the  author  as  well  as  the 
reader  to  seek  for  these  gems  alone  and  display  them 
freely  to  others.  But  a  wrong  impression  is  usually 
conveyed  by  presenting  only  one  side  of  a  question, 
and  careful  writers  must  avoid  this  mistake,  which  too 
many  have  made,  unconsciously,  perhaps,  to  themselves. 

Therefore,  some  brave  historian  of  the  future  must 
wade  through  the  revolting  horrors  of  the  Parajika 
books,  and  give  also  an  exposition  of  the  odious  doc- 
trines which  Burnouf  and  others  could  not  bring  them- 
selves to  transcribe.  These  things,  however,  should 
always  be  kept  strictly  within  the  pale  of  critical 
scholarship,  for  the  world  has  no  need  of  them.  The 
problem  which  requires  explanation  is  the  existence  of 
,  ,^ch  doctrines  in  a  sacred  literature. 

Why  should  the  same  canon  contain  works  which 
differ  so  greatly  in  literary  style  and  in  teaching,  as 
do  the  texts  of  the  Tri-pitaka  and  the  Dhamma-pada, 
with  its  classic  beauty  and  pure  morality  ? 

Why  should  the  Tantra  literature  and  the  unmen- 
tionable ceremonies  of  Siva  worship  find  a  place  in 
the  same  system  of  philosophy  with  "the  noble  eight- 
fold path?" 

i  See  p.  149. 


CHAPTEK  X. 
EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,  CONCLUDED. 

BUDDHA'S  INDEBTEDNESS  TO  BRAHMANISM  —  THE 
DHAMMA-PADA  —  SIMILARITIES  TO  OLD  TESTAMENT 
TEACHINGS  —  POSSIBLE  SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

—  SUMMARY. 

rpHE  striking  contrasts  which  Buddhism  presents 
-*-  both  in  morals  and  literature  are  worthy  of 
more  than  a  passing  notice,  and  the  faithful  student 
must  inquire  whence  they  came. 

Prof.  F.  Max  Miiller  has  repeatedly  pointed  out  the 
fact  that  the  Buddhists  are  indebted  to  the  Brahmans 
for  almost  all  of  their  philosophical  speculations,1  and 
it  should  also  be  noted  that,  even  in  the  choice  of  a 
name  derived  from  the  Sanskrit  root  budh,  the  Bud- 
dha adopted  the  phraseology  of  the  Sankhya  phi- 
losophy and  of  the  Brahmans.  The  Sankhya  system 
made  Buddhi  (intellect)  its  great  principle,  and  the 
Satapatha-brahmana  called  a  man  who  had  attained  to 
perfect  knowledge  of  Self,  prati-buddha.2 

Again,  the  doctrines  which  grew  out  of  his  own 
special  knowledge,  Gautama  called  Dharma3  (law), 

iProf.  F.  Max  Muller,  Int  Amitayur-dhyana-sutra,  p.  22.    Sa.  Bks.  E., 
Vol.  XLIX. 

a  XIV,  7, 2, 17.    This  was  first  pointed  out  by  Prof.  A.  Weber. 
3  Dharma  or  Dhamma. 

183 


184  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

using  the  same  term  which  was  employed  by  the 
Brahmans. 

Buddha's  "way  of  knowledge/'  though  it  developed 
into  many  paths,  was  primarily  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  that  all  life  was  merely  one  link  in  a  series  of 
successive  existences  and  inseparably  bound  up  with 
misery,  and  this  extreme  pessimism,  which  was  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  Buddhism,  was  taught  by  the 
Brahmans  five  centuries  before  Christ,  and  it  con- 
tinued to  be  a  thoroughly  Hindu  doctrine  long  after 
the  disappearance  of  Buddhism  from  India. 

Indeed,  all  Indian  philosophy  was  a  scheme  for 
getting  rid  of  the  ceaseless  round  of  existence,  which 
was  taught  in  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  and 
annihilation  was  looked  upon  as  a  welcome  deliver- 
ance. 

In  India  the  Upanishads,  and  the  systems  of  phi- 
losophy which  followed  them,  were  all  attuned  to  this 
same  minor  key,  the  real  object  of  the  authors  being 
the  discovery  of  a  plan  for  removing  the  misery  which 
they  believed  to  result  from  repeated  bodily  existence, 
and  from  all  action,  good  or  bad,  in  the  present,  pre- 
vious, and  future  births. 

Gautama's  adherence  to  these  ideas  is  repeatedly 
shown  in  his  teaching.  He  had  a  way,  however,  of 
clothing  old  ideas  in  a  new  dress,  which  proved  very 
attractive  to  his  followers,  and  he  rejected,  too,  some 
of  the  radical  ideas  of  the  Upanishads,  although  his 
sympathy  with  much  of  their  teaching  was  very  strong. 

The  term  Nirvana,  for  instance,  was  not  original 
with  Gautama ;  it  was  an  expression  which  was  com- 


EARLY  BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,   CONCLUDED.       185 

mon  to  both  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism,  and  most  of 
its  synonyms  are  still  common  to  both ;  nevertheless,  he 
gave  a  different  shade  to  the  meaning  of  the  word, 
for  he  could  not  advocate  that  it  meant  "the  ex- 
tinction in  the  Supreme  Being"1  of  those  who 
attained  Nirvana,  while  he  refused  to  admit  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  Being. 

THE    DHAMMA-PADA 

This  work,  which  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  the 
Buddhistic  writings,  also  contains  within  itself  -some 
striking  contrasts  and  inculcates  ideas  which  are  ap- 
parently derived  from  very  different  sources. 

"  By  earnestness  did  Indra  rise  to  the  lordship  of 
the  gods."2  This  verse,  and  all  others  which  contain 
allusions  to  this  deity,  must  be  of  Brahmanic  origin, 
for  Indra  was  the  Jove  of  early  Indian  mythology. 
He  is  represented  as  being  the  king  of  the  celestial 
beings  who  occupy  his  paradise,  although  after  one 
hundred  years  of  the  gods,  another,  and  possibly  a 
man,  may  by  great  sacrifices  usurp  his  position. 

"Without  ceasing,  I  shall  run  through  the  course 
of  many  births."3  This  sentiment  is  also  in  accord- 
ance with  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  which  was 
taught  in  both  Egypt  and  India  long  before  Gau- 
tama's time. 

Again,  we  find  the  following  statement :  "  The 
man  who  wears  dirty  garments,  who  is  emaciated,  who 
lives  alone  in  the  forest  and  meditates,  him  I  call, 

iThis  doctrine  was  taught  in  the  Upanishads,  and  later  in  the  Bhagavad- 
gita  (v.  24). 

a  Dhamma-pada,  v.  30.  3  Dhamma,  v.  395. 


186  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

indeed,  a  Brahmana."  Here  is  an  endorsement  of  the 
asceticism  which  was  practiced  under  the  dominion  of 
Brahmanism,  and  also  by  Buddha  and  some  of  his 
followers. 

But  while  these  and  many  others  are  evidently  of 
purely  Hindu  origin,  there  are  others  which  are  very 
different. 

SIMILARITIES  TO   OLD  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 

Many  of  the  most  valuable  of  these  precepts  will 
be  found  to  be  almost  identical  in  sentiment  with 
proverbs  which  Solomon  uttered  about  five  hundred 
years  before  the  birth  of  Buddha.  From  a  multitude 
of  forcible  illustrations  of  this  statement  we  select  a 
few  : 

"For  hatred  does  not  cease  by  hatred  at  any  time; 
hatred  ceases  by  love ;  this  is  an  old  rule. " l 

The  "old  rule,"  however,  had  been  more  tersely 
expressed  in  Proverbs,  where  it  is  said  that  "Hatred 
stirreth  up  strifes,  but  love  covereth  all  sins."2 

Again,  in  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said :  "  The 
evil  doer  suffers  in  this  world,  and  he  suffers  in  the 
next.  He  suffers  when  he  thinks  of  the  evil  he  has 
done,  he  suffers  more  when  going  on  the  evil  path."3 

This  sentiment  had  been  more  eloquently  expressed 
by  the  prophet  Isaiah  in  the  words :  "  The  wicked  are 
like  the  troubled  sea  when  it  cannot  rest,  whose 
waters  cast  up  mire  and  dirt.  There  is  uo  peace, 
saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked."4 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said  :     "  Thoughtlessness 

1  Dhamma.  v.  5.  3  Dhamma,  v.  17. 

2  Proverbs,  x,  12.  *  Isaiah,  Ivii,  20-21. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONCLUDED.        187 

is  the  path  of  death.  Those  who  reflect  do  not  die 

those  who  are  thoughtless  are  dead  already."1 

This  idea  had  been  expressed  in  Proverbs  as  fol- 
lows :  "In  the  way  of  righteousness  is  life,  and  in  the 
pathway  thereof  there  is  no  death."2 

Again,  in  the  Buddhist  work  it  is  said :  "  If  an 
earnest  person  has  aroused  himself,  if  he  is  not  for- 
getful, if  his  deeds  are  pure,  if  he  acts  with  consid- 
eration .  .  .  then  his  glory  shall  increase."3 

The  Psalmist,  however,  had  written  :  "He  that 
walketh  uprightly,  and  worketh  righteousness,  and 
speaketh  the  truth  in  his  heart  ...  he  that 
doeth  these  things  shall  never  be  moved."4 

The  Dhamma-pada  says  :  "Fools  follow  after  vanity, 
the  wise  man  keeps  earnestness  as  his  best  jewel."5 

Solomon  had  previously  written :  "  The  crown  of 
the  wise  is  their  riches,  but  the  foolishness  of  fools  is 
their  folly."6 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  we  find  the  admonition : 
"Follow  not  after  vanity,  nor  after  the  enjoyment  of 
love  and  lust."7 

The  Psalmist  had  previously  enquired  :  "  How  long 
will  ye  love  vanity  and  seek  after  leasing  ? " 8 

In  the  sayings  of  Buddha  we  find  the  following : 
"If  a  traveler  does  not  meet  with  one  who  is  his 
equal,  let  him  keep  to  his  solitary  journey ;  there  is  no 
companionship  with  a  fool."9 

Solomon  had,  however,  expressed  the  sentiment  more 

1  Dhamma,  v.  21.  6  Proverbs,  xiv,  24. 

2  Prov.,  xii,  28.  7  Dhamma,  v.  27. 

3  Dhamma,  v.  34.  8  Psalms,  iv,  2. 

4  Psalms,  xv,  2,  5.  •  Dhamma,  v.  61. 
<  Dhamma,  v.  26. 


188  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

forcibly  when  he  said :  "  Let  a  bear  robbed  of  her 
whelps  meet  a  man,  rather  than  a  fool  in  his  folly."1 

Buddha  said  :  "  A  fool  who  knoweth  his  foolishness 
is  wise,  at  least  so  far."2  . 

In  Proverbs  it  had  been  said  :  "  Even  a  fool,  when 
he  holdeth  his  peace,  is  counted  wise."3 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  we  find  the  wise  admonition : 
"Do  not  have  evil  doers  for  friends,  do  not  have  low 
people,  have  virtuous  people  for  friends."4 

The  Psalmist  had  previously  written:  "Blessed  is 
the  man  that  walketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the  un- 
godly, nor  standeth  in  the  way  of  sinners,  nor  sitteth  in 
in  the  seat  of  the  scornful."5  And  Solomon  had  de- 
clared :  "He  that  walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise, 
but  the  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed."6 

Again,  it  is  stated  in  the  Dhamma-pada  :  "If  one 
man  conquers  in  battle  a  thousand  times  a  thousand 
men,  and  if  another  conquer  himself,  he  is  the  greatest 
of  conquerers."7 

This  verse  appears  to  be  almost  a  repetition  of  the 
statement  that  "He  that  ruleth  his  spirit  is  greater 
than  he  that  taketh  a  city."8 

The  saying  of  Buddha :  "  The  wicked  man  burns 
by  his  own  deeds,  as  if  burnt  by  fire,"9  reminds  one 
forcibly  of  the  question  in  Proverbs  concerning  sin  : 
"Can  a  man  take  fire  in  his  bosom  and  his  clothes 
not  be  burned  ?  Can  one  go  upon  hot  coals  and  his 
feet  not  be  burned  ?"10 

1  Proverbs,  xvii,  12.  «  Proverbs,  xiii,  20. 

2  Dhamma,  v.  63.  7  Dhamma,  v.  103. 

3  Proverbs,  xvii,  28.  8  Proverbs,  xvi,  32. 
*  Dhamma,  v.  78.  9  Dhamma.  v.  36. 

5  Psalms,  i,  1.  loProv.,  vi,  27-28. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONCLUDED.       189 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said  :  "He  who  always 
greets  and  reveres  the  aged,  four  things  increase  unto 
him,  life,  beauty,  happiness  and  power."1  This  is  a 
strange  sentiment  to  find  in  a  system  which  taught 
that  all  life  was  misery,  that  beauty  and  happiness 
were  to  be  shunned  and  power  ignored.  But  centuries 
before  Buddha,  Moses  had  written:  "Thou  shalt  rise 
up  before  the  hoary  head  and  honor  the  face  of  the 
old  man."2 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said:  "Do  not  kill,  nor 
cause  slaughter;"3  but  it  had  long  before  been  written 
upon  tables  of  stone:  "Thou  shalt  not  kill."4 

In  the  precepts  of  Buddha  we  find  the  wise  ad- 
monition:  "Do  not  speak  harshly  to  anybody.  Those 
who  are  spoken  to  harshly  will  answer  thee  in  the 
same  way."5  This  sentiment  had  been  more  briefly 
stated  in  these  words:  "A  soft  answer  turneth  away 
wrath,  but  grievous  words  stir  up  anger."6 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said  :  "He  who  dwells 
in  the  law,  delights  in  the  law,  meditates  in  the  law, 
follows  the  law,  will  never  fall  away  from  the  true 
law."7  This  is  almost  a  repetition  of  the  words  of 
the  Psalmist:  "His  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord,  and  in  his  law  doth  he  meditate  day  and 
night."8 

In  the  precepts  of  Buddha  it  is  said :  "  If  a  man 
hold  himself  dear,  let  him  watch  himself  carefully."9 
This  appears  to  be  an  echo  of  the  admonition  to 

1  Dhamma,  v.  109.  6  Prov.,  xv,  1. 

2  Lev.,  xix,  32.  1  Dhamma,  v.  364. 

3  Dhamma,  v.  129.  8  Psalms,  i,  2. 

*  Exodus,  xx,  13.  9  Dhamma,  v.  157. 

5  Dhamma,  v.  133. 


190  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

"Take  heed  to  thyself  and  keep  thy  soul  diligently."1 
and  many  similar  passages. 

In  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said :  "  The  fault  of 
others  is  easily  perceived,  but  that  of  one's  self  is  diffi- 
cult to  perceive."2 

This   is   the   same    sentiment    found    in    Proverbs : 
"Every  way  of  a  man  is  right  in  his  own  eyes, 
his  neighbor  findeth  no  favor  in  his  eyes."3 

Again,  in  the  Dhamma-pada  it  is  said  :  "  All  men 
tremble  at  punishment ;  all  men  love  life ;  remember 
that  thou  art  like  unto  them,  and  do  not  kill,  nor 
cause  slaughter."4 

Not  only  is  this  injunction'  preceded  by  the  com- 
mandment that  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  but  the  whole 
sentiment  had  been  more  forcibly  and  broadly  ex- 
pressed hundreds  of  years  before  Buddha  was  born, 
in  the  command :  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."5 

It  has  been  freely  charged  that  Christ  borrowed 
"the  golden  rule"  from  Buddha,  or  from  Confucius, 
regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  sentiment  expressed  in 
Matthew  is  ascribed  "to  the  law  and  the  prophets."6 

Many  other  similarities  might  be  cited  between  the 
verses  of  the  Dhamma-pada  and  the  older  literature  of 
the  Hebrews,7  but  it  can  hardly  be  claimed  that  even 
these  are  accidental. 

It  is  certain  that  every  moral  principle  which  has 

i  Deut.,  iv,  9,  also  Prov.,  iv,  23.  *  Dhamma,  v.  252. 

2 Dhamma,  v.  352.  5  Lev.,  xix,  18. 

3  Proverbs,  xxi,  2, 10.  6  Matthew,  vii,  12. 

7 Compare  especially  Dhamma,  34,  with  Psalms,  xv,  2,  5,  and  Dhamma,  66, 
with  Prov.,xviii,  7.  Again,  compare  Dhamma,  69,  with  Eccl.,  viii,  2;  also 
Dhamma,  82,  with  Psalms,  cxix,  165,  and  Isaiah,  xlvii,  18,  and  many  others. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST  LITERATURE,    CONCLUDED.       191 

been  inculcated  by  either  Buddha  or  his  followers  was 
freely  taught  by  Moses  and  the  prophets  long  before 
the  birth  of  Gautama. 

It  is  true  that  Buddhism  has  ten  commandments, 
the  first  four  of  which  are  virtually  the  same  as  those 
belonging  to  the  Mosaic  decalogue,1  but  this  fact  need 
not  be  considered,  as  it  is  a  circumstance  which  might 
easily  happen.  It  is  more  significant,  however,  that  a 
story  is  found  in  the  Jatakas  which  is  apparently 
based  upon  the  wise  decision  of  Solomon.  "The 
Hebrew  story,"  says  Rhys  Davids,  "in  which  a  similar 
judgment  is  ascribed  to  Solomon,  occurs  in  the  book 
of  Kings,  which  is  more  than  a  century  older  than 
the  time  of  Gautama  .  .  .  and  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  chronicle  in  question  was  based, 
for  the  most  part,  on  tradition  current  much  earlier 
among  the  Jewish  people,  and  probably  on  earlier 
documents."2  Not  only  does  it  appear  very  possible 
that  Buddhism  has  been  indebted  to  the  earlier  writ- 
ings, but  there  are  some  things,  even  in  Brahmanism, 
which  would  indicate  that  there  may  have  been  some 
connection  between  the  people  of  India  and  the  Jews. 
For  instance,  the  Hindu  temple  is  on  the  same  plan 
as  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  and  scholars  are 
asking  whence  the  Hindus  can  have  derived  this 
plan  ? 

Not  only  this,  but  Surgeon-General  Gordon,  in  his 
able  paper  before  the  Victoria  Institute,  or  Philosoph- 
ical Society  of  Great  Britain,  on  the  "  Philosophy  and 
Medical  Knowledge  of  Ancient  India,"  has  cited  a 

>  See  p.  125.  2  B.  B.  S.,  Int.  pp.  xvi,  xlv. 


192  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

great  number  of  points  in  which  the  Code  of  Manu  is 
found  to  be  almost  identical  with  the  much  earlier 
Mosaic  Code.1 

When  a  book  presents  many  ideas  which  are  nearly 
identical  with  those  of  another,  it  is  customary,  in  the 
world  of  letters,  to  decide  who  has  done  the  borrow- 
ing merely  upon  the  question  of  chronological  prece- 
dence. It  may  be  well,  however,  to  briefly  consider 
some  of  the  points  of  contact  between  the  two  nations. 

POSSIBLE   SOURCES   OF   INFORMATION. 

It  was  formerly  believed  that  little,  if  any,  inter- 
course took  place  between  the  Semitic  and  Aryan 
peoples  in  early  times,  but  later  discoveries  have  shown 
that  commerce,  and  even  political  and  literary  rela- 
tions, obtained  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  the 
scholars  of  the  last  century  supposed.2  Phoenicia  has 
been  found  to  be  the  connecting  link  between  Palestine 
and  Greece,  both  in  architecture  and  art.  Not  only 
is  this  true  of  Greece,  but  of  other  countries  as  well. 
The  presence  of  teak  at  Mugheir  proves  that  the 
commerce  of  Babylonia  extended  as  far  as  India,  and 
Professor  Sayce  also  claims  that  before  the  sixth  cen- 
tury before  Christ  the  Phoenicians  had  penetrated  to 
the  northwestern  coast  of  India,  and  her  pearls  and 
ivories  flowed  into  their  harbors.3  It  will  be  remem- 
bered, too,  that  Solomon  was  indebted  to  Phoenicia 
for  his  active  commerce  with  India,  and  during  the 
building  of  the  temple  the  fleets  of  Hiram  and  Solo- 

1  Surgeon-General  Gordon,  M.  D.,  C.  B.,  Q.  H.  P.    (Trans.  Vic.  Inst.,  Vol. 
XXV,  No.  99.) 

2  See  note  to  p.  153.  3  Sayce,  An.  Emp.,  pp.  176, 181, 308. 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONCLUDED.       193 

mon  brought  from  Ophir1  gold  and  precious  stones, 
and  abundance  of  algum  trees.2  There  is  also  reason 
to  believe  that  there  was  a  great  commerce  by  land 
between  the  East  and  West  by  way  of  Palmyra  and 
Mesopotamia.  "  Though  intercourse  by  sea/'  says 
Rhys  Davids,  "was  not  continued  after  Solomon's  time, 
the  gold  of  Ophir,  ivory,  jade  and  Eastern  gems  still 
continued  to  find  their  way  to  the  West ;  and  it  would 
be  an  interesting  task  for  an  Assyrian  or  Hebrew 
scholar  to  trace  the  evidence  of  this  overland  route  in 
other  ways."3 

"Nor  should  we,"  says  Prof.  Max  Miiller,  "when 
looking  for  channels  of  communication  between  the 
ancient  kingdoms  of  Asia,  forget  the  Jews,  who  were 
more  or  less  at  home  in  every  part  of  the  world.  We 
must  remember  that  they  came  originally  from  Ur  of 

i  It  is  true  there  is  some  difference  of  opinion  in  reference  to  the  locality 
of  Ophir,  but  the  commerce  was  of  long  continuance,  and  the  navies  of  Solo- 
mon and  Hiram  came  once  in  every  three  years,  "bringing  gold  and  silver, 
ivory,  apes  and  peacocks."  Every  one  of  these  are  distinctively  Indian 
products,  and  Professor  Lasseu  considers  it  unnecessary  to  examine  con- 
jectures concerning  other  localities,  from  the  fact  that  products  which  are 
said  to  come  from  Ophir  have  Indian  names,  even  in  the  Hebrew  text,  when 
they  are  destitute  of  genuine  Hebrew  names. 

In  the  Septuagint,  the  translators  have  invariably  rendered  the  word 
Ophir,  as  Souphir,  in  its  various  forms,  and,  according  to  Coptic  lexico- 
graphers, Soupher  is  the  general  name  applied  by  the  Copts  to  India  and  its 
islands. 

Josephus  says  that  Solomon's  fleets  had  India  for  their  goal  (Ant.  vi,  4). 
See  also  Professor  Sayce  (An.  Emp.,  p.  189)  and  Rhys  Davids  (B.  B.  S.,  Int., 
p.  xlvl) ;  also  Carl  Von  Ritter,  the  eminent  German  geographer  (Geog.  Pal., 
Vol.  I,  pp.  116,  128;  also  Reland  (Dissertatio  de  Ophir),  Vitringa  (Geog. 
Sacra.,  p.  114),  Thenius  (Exeget.  Handbuch,  I  Kings,  x,  22),  Bertheau  (Exe- 
get.  Handbuch,  2  Chron.,  viii,  18)  and  Ewald  (Geschichte,  III,  347, 2d  edition). 

a  Almug  or  algum  trees  furnished  the  peculiar  wood  which  was  used  for 
the  terraces  of  the  temple,  and  it  is  denned  as  being  "the  red  sandal  wood 
of  India  .  .  .  hard,  heavy,  close  grained  and  of  a  fine  red  color."— Cyclo- 
paedia Britannica. 

3 Rhys  Davids  (B.  B.  S.,  xlvii). 


194  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

the  Chaldees,  then  migrated  to  Canaan,  and  afterward 
sojourned  in  Egypt  before  they  settled  in  Palestine. 
After  this,  we  know  they  were  led  into  captivity,  and 
lived  in  close  proximity  and  held  daily  intercourse 
with  Medians,  Persians,  Babylonians  and  Assyrians."1 
Not  only  is  it  true  that  India  was  one  of  the  prov- 
inces of  Darius  at  the  time  when  the  prophet  Daniel 
held  a  high  position  at  the  king's  court,  but  later 
events  show  that  the  Jews  were  very  numerous  in  India 
during  the  life  of  Buddha.  Ahasuerus,  who  "  reigned 
from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,"  has  been  definitely 
identified  as  Xerxes  I.2  He  was  contemporary  with 
Buddha,3  and  during  his  reign  the  Jews  were  so 
numerous  in  India  and  the  other  provinces  of  his 
dominion  that  they  made  a  successful  stand  against 
their  enemies  when  the  king  instructed  them  to  do 
so.  And  the  great  victory  which  was  then  obtained 
was  celebrated  by  the  institution  of  the  annual  feast 
of  Purim,  which  is  observed  by  the  Jewish  people  even 
to  this  day.4  Therefore  the  Jewish  people  must 
have  been  exceedingly  numerous  in  and  around  India 
during  the  time  of  Buddha,  and  it  is  a  well  known 
fact  that  they  carried  their  sacred  books,  their  system 

1  Max  Miiller,  Inaugural  Address  before  the  Ninth  International  Congress 
of  Orientalists. 

2  In  a  recent  letter  to  the  author  on  this  subject,  Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce  says: 
"  Ahasuerus  and  Xerxes  are  the  same  name,  and  there  is  only  one  Xerxes  to 
whom  the  account  in  the  book  of  Esther  can  refer.    That  is  the  famous 
Xerxes  I.    Thanks  to  the  decipherment  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  we 
now  know  that  the  Persian  kings  did  not  have  two  names,  so  that  the  old 
attempt  to  identify  the  Xerxes  of  Esther  with  Darius  or  Artaxerxes  can 
never  be  renewed." 

3  Xerxes  came  to  the  throne  about  485  B.  C. 

*Esther,  ix,  26-32.    It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  no  historic  evidence  is 
considered  so  strong  as  the  existence  of  the  annual  celebration  of  an  event, 


EARLY   BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONCLUDED.       195 

of  ethics  and  their  form  of  worship  into  every  country 
where  they  obtained  a  foothold.  Hence,  opportu- 
nities were  apparently  abundant  for  Buddha  and  his 
contemporaries  to  learn  the  proverbs  and  oft-repeated 
sayings  of  this  peculiar  people.  If  it  be  true,  as  Max 
Miiller  asserts,  that  "the  Indian  alphabet  certainly 
came  from  a  Semitic  alphabet/'1  we  may  well  believe 
that  the  alphabet  was  not  the  only  literary  heritage 
which  the  people  of  India  received  from  the  Semites. 

SUMMARY. 

In  relation  to  this  department  of  letters,  we  have 
seen  that  it  found  its  origin  at  a  time  when  there  was 
a  general  intellectual  activity  throughout  the  East, 
and  the  official  canon  of  the  Buddhist  church  is 
supposed  to  date  from  the  first  century  before  Christ. 

The  "three  baskets"  which  compose  this  canon 
contain  all  which  refers  to  morality  in  these  books, 
and  also  the  discourses  of  Buddha  on  various  sub- 
jects, as  well  as  his  definite  instructions  to  monks  in 
reference  to  the  trivial  affairs  of  life.  They  contain, 
too,  works  which  treat  upon  a  variety  of  subjects,  in- 
cluding philosophy  and  discipline.  The  Law  required 

and  hence  the  faithful  keeping  of  the  Purim  feast  has  added  greatly  to  the 
weight  of  testimony  in  this  department  of  history. 

The  Talmud  is  composed  of  the  Mishna  and  Gemera.  The  former  is  the 
text  and  the  latter  is  the  commentary  upon  it. 

The  composers  of  the  Mishna  were  men  belonging  to  the  Sanhedrin 
many  years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  There  is  one  section  of 
the  Talmud,  called  the  Megillah  (scroll),  which  treats  of  the  book  of 
Esther,  the  feast  of  Purim,  etc.  The  Megillah  Esther  is  read  by  the  Hebrews 
on  the  day  of  the  Purim  feast.  There  is  no  doubt  but  it  was  written  in  Persia, 
as  it  contains  many  Persian  rvords,  and  it  is  ascribed  to  the  time  of  Arta- 
xerxes  Longimanus,  who  was  the  son  and  successor  of  Xerxes  I,  and  who 
came  to  the  throne  about  465  B.  C. 

i  Max  Mftller,  Inaugural  Address,  p.  29. 


196  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

that  these  early  texts  should  be  constantly  recited,  and 
great  merit  was  accumulated  thereby.  The  phrase- 
ology of  the  Vinaya  is  thought  to  be  substantially 
accurate,  even  though  it  was  long  handed  down  by 
memory,  and,  therefore,  we  have  here  an  invaluable 
record  of  the  mental  characteristics  of  the  early  Bud- 
dhists. 

We  have  seen,  too,  that  there  are  strange  contrasts 
in  the  literature  of  Buddhism  —  that  while  the  greater 
part  of  the  sacred  canon  abounds  with  tedious  diffuse- 
ness  and  may  be  considered  almost  without  literary 
merit,  there  are  other  portions  which  present  not  only 
a  desirable  code  of  ethics,  but  also  much  poetry  of 
expression.  While  the  greater  part  of  this  teaching 
is  burdened  with  luxuriant  imagination  and  crowded 
with  absurd  statements,  still  there  is  much  which  is 
so  greatly  superior  to  this  that  the  eareful  student 
is  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  conflicting  ele- 
ments were  derived  from  very  different  sources.  It  is 
impossible  to  think  of  the  moral  horrors  of  the  Tantra 
literature  as  emanating  from  the  same  source  with  the 
simple  beauty  of  the  Dhamma-pada,  neither  can  one 
conceive  of  the  revolting  ceremonies  of  Siva  worship 
as  a  component  part  of  any  system  of  ethics.  These 
forcible  antagonisms  must  be  explained  in  some  way, 
and  the  most  natural  conclusion  is  that  they  were  de- 
rived from  the  various  races  with  whom  the  Buddhists 
have  come  in  contact. 

Beginning  with  a  simple  pessimistic  declaration, 
Buddhism  has,  in  later  times,  branched  out  into  a 
great  number  of  complicated  and  self -contradictory 


EARLY    BUDDHIST   LITERATURE,    CONCLUDED.       197 

propositions  "Its  teaching,"  says  Williams,  "has  be- 
come both  negative  and  positive,  agnostic  and  gnostic. 
It  passes  from  atheism  and  materialism  to  theism, 
polytheism  and  spiritualism. 

"It  is,  under  one  aspect,  mere  pessimism ;  under 
another,  pure  philanthropy ;  under  another,  monastic 
communism ;  under  another,  high  morality ;  under 
another,  a  variety  of  materialistic  philosophy ;  under 
another,  simple  demonology ;  under  another,  a  mere 
farrago  of  superstitions,  including  necromancy,  witch- 
craft, idolatry  and  fetishism.  In  some  form  or  an- 
other, it  may  be  held  with  almost  any  religion,  and 
embraces  something  from  almost  every  creed.  It  is 
founded  upon  philosophical  Brahmanism,  has  much  in 
common  with  Sankhya  and  Vedanta  ideas,  is  closely 
connected  with  Vaishnavism,  and  in  some  of  its 
phases  with  both  Saivism  and  Saktism,  and  yet  it  is, 
properly  speaking,  opposed  to  every  one  of  these 
systems."1  The  readiness  with  which  this  system  allies 
itself  with  the  leading  idea  of  every  people  whom  it 
approaches  has  been  frequently  noted,  so  much  so 
that  it  has  been  called  the  "universal  borrower,"  and 
when  upon  American  soil  it  even  claims  some  of  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  This  inveterate  tendency  for 
borrowing  must  account  for  the  numerous  inconsist- 
encies which  obtain  in  its  teachings  and  literature. 

i  Williams,  B. ,  p.  13. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
CONCLUSION. 

PRIMITIVE      BUDDHISM      IN      INDIA  —  ORIGIN     OF     THE 
SYSTEM  — ATHEISM  —  TRANSMIGRATION  —  KARMA  - 
PESSIMISM — METAPHYSICS  —  THE   ACCUMULATION    OF 

,       MERIT  —  NIRVANA —  LITERATURE  —  ORIGINALITY     OF 
BUDDHA — CAUSES   OF   EXTENSIVE   INFLUENCE. 

TTTE  have  seen  that  Buddhism,  so  long  as  it  re- 
*  *  mained  in  its  primitive  form,  was  a  blessing  to 
India,  because  it  encouraged  benevolence,  self-sacrifice, 
tolerance  and  humanity  —  because  it  opposed  the  tyr- 
anny of  the  Brahmanic  priesthood  and  deprecated  war 
between  nations. 

In  its  earliest  phase  it  was  not  a  religion,  but 
merely  a  system  of  philosophy  which  was  founded 
upon  extreme  pessimism ;  still,  it  promoted,  to  a 
certain  extent,  intellectual  and  moral  progress.  It 
taught  respect  for  life  and  compassion  toward  the 
lower  animals. 

It  was  a  benefit  to  woman,  even  though  it  made 
war  upon  the  home,  because  it  gave  her  some  sem- 
blance of  equality  by  allowing  her  to  become  a  nun 
under  much  the  same  rules  which  obtained  in  com- 
munities of  men.  Although  it  was  claimed  that  she 
could  never  attain  perfection  except  by  becoming  a 

198 


CONCLUSION.  199 

man,  and  although  during  the  reign  of  Buddhism  in 
India  living  women  were  burned  upon  the  dead  bodies 
of  their  husbands,1  still  this  system  advocates  a  certain 
amount  of  social  freedom.  It  does  not  require  the  im- 
prisonment of  wives  and  daughters  in  the  harem,  and 
the  marriage  of  very  young  children  is  not  enforced. 

We  have  noted  that,  although  some  ideas  may  have 
been  obtained  from  other  races,  the  metaphysical  and 
speculative  doctrines  of  Buddhism  have  found  their 
origin  upon  Indian  soil  and  in  the  earlier  creeds  of 
the  Hindus.  Even  points  which  were  thoroughly  an- 
tagonistic to  the  Vedic  philosophy  indicate  that  they 
could  not  have  existed  without  their  predecessor. 

While  Gautama  denied  the  existence  of  a  Creator 
and  repudiated  the  Veda  and  all  Vedic  sacrifices,  still 
he  made  the  philosophy  of  the  Brilhmans  the  point  of 
departure  for  his  own  teaching. 

The  Sankhya  philosophy,  in  its  original  form, 
claims  the  name  of  "lordless"  or  "atheistic"  as  its 
distinctive  title,  but  while  Buddha's  whole  system  of 
negation  was  founded  upon  atheism,  he  still  recog- 
nized the  various  gods  of  the  Hindu  pantheon.  And 
his  followers  became  the  worshipers  of  "  lords  many, 
and  gods  many,"  to  such  an  extent  that  more  idols 
are  found  in  Buddhist  countries  than  among  any 
other  people. 

i  Unknown  thousands  of  lives  were  sacrificed  in  this  barbarous  manner, 
as  hundreds  and  sometimes  thousands  of  women  were  burned  alive  every 
year.  At  the  close  of  the  last  century  seventy  widows  were  burned  upon  the 
funeral  pyre  of  one  raja. 

The  horrible  custom  had  obtained  in  India  ever  since  the  days  of  Alex- 
ander until  abolished  by  the  English  government  in  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century. 


200  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

We  have  seen  that  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis 
was  promulgated  by  Egyptian  and  Hindu  for  centuries 
before  the  birth  of  Gautama.  In  the  Upanishads1 
(which  contain  the  doctrinal  portion  of  the  Veda),  we 
find  that  the  Indian  philosophers  attempted  to  devise 
some  plan,  or  theory,  whereby  the  eternal  cycle  of  ex- 
,istence  in  constant  migration  could  be  avoided. 

It  remained,  however,  for  Buddha  to  teach  the 
transmigration  of  character,  and,  in  some  cases,  the 
transfer  of  consciousness,  even  while  ignoring  the  ex- 
istence of  a  soul. 

In  immediate  connection  with  the  theory  of  me- 
tempsychosis we  have  found  the  doctrine  that  the 
effect  of  good  or  bad  actions  extended  from  former 
lives  to  the  present,  and  from  the  present  to  all  future 
existences.  But  we  meet  with  these  ideas  everywhere 
in  the  poetry,  the  philosophy  and  the  religion  of  the 
Hindus ;  they  cannot  be  claimed  as  the  property  of 
any  particular  system.  There  is  no  forgiveness  in  the 
doctrine  of  karma ;  a  man  is  bound  hand  and  foot  by 
the  inevitable  consequences  of  his  own  evil  actions. 

Even  the  extreme  pessimism  of  Buddha  was  taught 
in  the  doctrinal  portion  of  the  Vedas.  The  Upani- 
shads and  other  important  works  were  replete  with 
the  doctrine  that  everything  was  for  the  worst  in 

i  The  doctrine  of  transmigration  is  found  in  the  first  of  the  series  of  the 
Upanishads,  and  sometimes  there  is  a  curious  consistency  in  the  various 
changes— for  instance,  the  man  who  has  stolen  perfumery  becomes  a  musk- 
rat;  one  who  has  stolen  grain  becomes  a  rat;  one  who  has  stolen  water 
becomes  a  water-fowl;  one  who  has  stolen  meat  becomes  a  vulture;  one 
who  has  stolen  oil  becomes  a  cockroach,  etc. 

Although  the  Upanishads,  as  such,  were  not  formulated  until  about  the 
time  of  Buddha,  their  doctrines  originated  much  earlier. 


J 


CONCLUSION.  201 


this,  the  worst  of  all  possible  worlds.1  Therefore, 
Buddha  started  out  with  the  idea  that  the  highest  ob- 
ject to  be  attained  is  the  escape  from  pain.  Life,  in 
his  eyes,  was  only  suffering,  and  birth  was  the  cause 
of  all  evil,  from  which  even  death  could  not  deliver 
him,  because  of  transmigration.  There  was  no  deliv- 
erance from  evil  except  by  breaking  through  the 
prison  walls  of  continued  life  and  by  extirpating  the 
last  cause  of  existence. 

In  relation  to  metaphysics  the  old  Vedanta  philoso- 
phers thought  they  were  free  when  they  arrived  at  the 
knowledge  that  nothing  existed  but  Brahman — that  all 
phenomena  are  merely  the  result  of  ignorance.  But 
Buddha  pushed  the  doctrine  of  negation  still  farther, 
and  claimed  that  there  is  no  reality  anywhere,  neither 
in  the  past  nor  in  the  future.  "True  wisdom  consists 
in  perceiving  the  nothingness  of  all  things,  and  in  a 
desire  to  become  nothing,  'to  be  blown  out/  to  enter 
into  Nirvana.  Emancipation  is  obtained  by  total  ex- 
tinction. .  .  .  If  to  be,  is  misery,  then  not  to  be, 
must  be  felicity,  and  this  is  the  highest  reward  that 
Buddha  offered  to  his  disciples."2 

Buddha  had  no  conception  of  sin  as  an  offense 
against  God.  He  taught  his  followers  to  get  rid  of 
the  demerit  of  evil  action  and  accumulate  a  stock  of 
merit  by  good  actions.  This,  too,  was  a  genuine 
Hindu  idea.  It  is  even  now  the  vital  portion  of 
Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  as  well  as  Zoroastrianism 
and  Confucianism. 

iSee  the  Maitrayani  Upanishad.  Also  Bhartri-hari,  Vairagya-sataka,  III, 
32,50. 

a  P.  Max  Miiller,  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  227. 


202  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

It  is  even  more  vital  to  Buddhism,  as  there  is  no 
forgiveness  in  this  system,  and  good  actions  are  rep- 
resented as  the  only  counterpoise  of  evil  conduct. 
Hence  we  find  that  great  sacrifice  is  required  in  order 
to  produce  great  merit,  and  people  made  a  practice  of 
buying  birds  (which  had  been  caught  by  professional 
bird-catchers  for  that  purpose)  and  giving  them  their 
liberty.  Those  who  were  to  become  Buddhas  gave 
away  their  wives  and  their  children  "to  serve  others," 
and  the  Buddha  who  received  more  radiance  than  any 
of  the  others  was  he  who  gave  his  children  to  be 
eaten  by  a  demon,  while  the  father  looked  contentedly 
on  as  they  were  "devoured  like  a  bunch  of  roots."1 

It  was  a  system  of  balancing  up  accounts,  and  coun- 
teracting by  such  "good  actions"  the  great  accumu- 
lation of  demerit  which  had  obtained  in  consequence 
of  the  evil  actions,  not  only  of  the  present  life  but  of 
all  the  previous  forms  of  existence. 

We  have  seen,  too,  that  Nirvana  was  not  original 
with  Buddha.  It  occurred  also  in  the  literature  of  the 
Brahmans,  as  a  synonym  of  "deliverance,"  "cessa- 
tion" and  "release."2  Brahmanism  had  a  confused  idea 
that  the  human  soul  might  be  absorbed  into  the  Uni- 
versal Spirit,3  but  Buddhism  could  not  unite  the  soul, 

1  See  Rhys  Davids  (B.  B.  S.,  p.  33). 

2  Different  views  of  Nirvana,  as  conceived  by  the  Brahmans,  maybe  found 
in  an  extract  from  the  Lankavatara,  translated  by  Burnouf,  p.  514. 

3  The  Vedanta  philosophers  supposed  that  after  the  destruction  of  ignor- 
ance and  all  its  effects,  all  was  again  merged  into  Brahman,  the  true  source 
of  being,  thought  and  happiness. 

But  while  some  of  the  Upanishads,  like  the  Katha,  taught  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  and  the  absorption  of  everything  into  Brahman,  others  show  that 
this  apparent  monotheism  is  simply  pantheism,  and  that  the  universe  itself 
is  supposed  to  be  Brahma.  Not  only  this,  but  Brahma  is  himself  represented 
as  dying,  as  well  as  the  souls  which  have  been  absorbed  into  his  substance, 


CONCLUSION.  203 

which  it  repudiated,  with  a  God  whom  it  ignored, 
therefore  the  Nirvana  of  this  system  could  never  be 
interpreted  as  "  absorption  into  the  divine  essence." 
With  Buddha,  Nirvana  must  have  meant  either  non- 
existence  or  the  path  that  leads  to  that  condition.1 

"The  wise  hold  that  there  is  really  nothing  exist- 
ing, and  those  whose  minds  are  disgusted  with  a 
future  existence  go  out  like  the  lamp.  As  a  flame 
blown  out  by  the  wind  goes  out,  and  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  existing,  even  so  a  Muni,  delivered  from 
name  and  body,  cannot  be  reckoned  as  existing.  Exert 
thyself,  then,  being  wise ;  let  one  having  listened  to  my 
utterance  learn  his  own  extinction."2 

LITERATURE. 

The  literature,  of  course,  was  largely  founded  upon 
these  doctrines  which  existed  in  some  form  among  the 
earlier  philosophies  of  India,  and  the  florid  description 
which  is  often  found  is  also  a  natural  growth  of  the 
Indian  school  of  letters. 

We  have,  too,  the  secret  Tantric  doctrines  and  the 
elucidation  of  the  ceremonies  of  Siva  worship,  which 
was  the  most  revolting  feature  of  Brahmanism. 

But  we  have  also  portions  of  books,  and  in  one 
instance  almost  a  whole  Sutta  (the  Dhamma-pada), 
treating  of  morality,  virtue,  self-control  and  wisdom. 
Here  is  an  element  which,  although  a  part  of  the 

and  in  strict  accordance  with  the  pantheistic  idea  the  whole  universe 
expires  with  him,  to  be  reorganized  again  when  he  comes  from  the  death 
state.  (See  Chandogya  Upanishad,  3-14.) 

i  See  pp§.  126, 132. 

a  Extract  from  the  discourse  of  Buddha,  found  in  the  Sutta-nipata,  v.  1069. 
See  also  verses  234,  353,  354,  1073,  1061  and  many  others. 


204  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

system,  is  so  entirely  different  from  the  great  mass  of 
Buddhist  literature  that  it  cannot  be  considered  as 
coming  from  the  same  source,  and  it  appears  to  have 
been  derived  from  a  different  race.  It  is  a  noteworthy 
fact  that  we  find  here  many  striking  similarities  to  the 
sentiments  of  Biblical  writers  which  were  given  to  the 
world  long  before  the  time  of  Buddha. 

ORIGINALITY    OF   BUDDHA. 

It  is  evident  that  the  principal  theories  of  Bud- 
dhism lived  in  India  long  before  Gautama's  time. 
Atheism  and  transmigration,  the  doctrine  of  karma, 
the  principles  of  pessimism,  the  theories  of  meta- 
physics, the  effort  to  accumulate  merit,  and  even  the 
idea  of  Nirvana,  were  already  in  existence  and  ready 
for  his  work. 

That  which  was  new  and  original  with  Buddha  was 
the  changing  of  a  philosophical  system  into  a  practical 
doctrine.  He  took  the  thoughts  of  the  few  and  pro- 
mulgated them  among  the  many.  Although  he  did  not 
wish  to  abolish  caste  as  a  social  institution,  and  though 
there  is  no  trace  of  social  leveling,  or  of  democratic 
communism  in  his  discourses,  still  he  opposed  the 
exclusive  privileges  which  were  claimed  by  the  Brah- 
mans  and  protested  against  their  cruel  treatment  of  the 
lower  castes. 

He  disregarded  the  exclusiveness  of  the  priests  and 
addressed  himself  to  all  classes,  and  hence  Buddhism 
was  a  reaction  against  Brahmanism  even  while  retain- 
ing much  of  its  faith. 


CONCLUSION.  205 

CAUSES   OF   EXTENSIVE    INFLUENCE. 

"How  a  religion,"  says  Max  Miiller,  "which  taught 
the  annihilation  of  all  existence,  of  all  thought,  of  all 
individuality  and  personality,  as  the  highest  object  of 
all  endeavor,  could  have  laid  hold  of  the  minds  of 
millions  of  human  beings,  and  how  at  the  same  time, 
by  enforcing  the  duties  of  morality,  justice,  kindness 
and  self-sacrifice,  it  could  have  exercised  a  beneficial  in- 
fluence ...  is  a  riddle  which  no  one  has  been 
able  to  solve."1 

Virtue  is  enjoined,  not  because  it  necessarily  leads 
to  happiness.  On  the  contrary,  happiness  is  to  be 
shunned,  and  the  only  reward  of  virtue  is  that  it  sub- 
dues the  passions  and  thus  prepares  the  mind  for  that 
knowledge  which  is  to  end  in  complete  annihilation 
or  utter  extinction.  Buddhism  says:  "Act  rightly 
through  your  own  efforts,  and  for  the  final  getting  rid 
of  all  suffering,  of  all  individuality,  of  all  life  in  your- 
selves." 

Buddha  affirmed  of  himself  that  he  came  into  the 
world  by  the  force  derived  from  his  own  acts.  By 
that  force  alone  he  had  passed  through  innumerable 
bodies  of  gods,  demi-gods,  demons,  men  and  animals, 
until  he  entered  the  side  of  his  mother  in  the  form 
of  a  white  elephant.  He  declared  that  all  enlighten- 
ment and  wisdom  were  to  be  obtained  by  his  followers 
through  themselves  and  their  own  intuitions,  and  that 
only  after  a  long  and  painful  discipline  in  countless 
successive  bodily  existences. 

i  F.  Max  Muller,  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  248. 


206       ,  PRIMITIVE   BUDDHISM. 

He  did  not  admonish  his  followers  to  lead  a  life  of 
usefulness  and  activity,  but  to  shun  the  world,  to 
withdraw  from  it,  to  become  indolent  and  live  as  pau- 
pers upon  the  earnings  of  others. 

He  did  not  teach  them  to  expect  a  world  renewed 
and  perfected,  but  a  never-ending  succession  of  evil 
worlds  forever  coming  into  existence,  developing,  de- 
caying, perishing  and  reviving,  all  of  them  always  full 
of  disappointment,  illusion,  transmutation  and  ever- 
lasting misery. 

He  did  not  teach  that  bodily  existence  is  subject  to 
only  one  transformation,  but  he  taught  the  passage 
through  countless  bodies  of  men,  animals,  demons, 
ghosts  and  dwellers  in  various  heavens  and  hells  with- 
out any  progressive  development,  but  in  a  constant 
jumble  of  metamorphoses.  The  man  who  had  spent 
years  in  one  of  the  heavens  was  liable  to  be  born 
the  next  time  as  a  reptile,  or  in  hell. 

He  taught  that  the  body,  whether  of  man  or  of  any 
higher  being,  can  never  be  the  abode  of  anything  but 
evil ;  that  a  man,  or  even  a  god,  may  become  an  ani- 
mal of  any  kind  or  the  most  loathsome  vermin. 

Instead  of  teaching  that  all  affection  should  be  puri- 
fied and  exalted,  he  claimed  that  all  affections  should 
be  utterly  destroyed. 

Instead  of  teaching  men  to  go  to  work  and  honor- 
ably earn  their  own  bread  —  instead  of  admonishing 
them  to  provide  for  their  own  households,  he  com- 
manded them  to  abandon  wife  and  children,  and  leave 
them  to  starvation  if  need  be,  while  the  husband  and 
father  begged  his  own  bread  from  door  to  door. 


CONCLUSION.  207 

Instead  of  teaching  his  followers  to  ask  what  they 
should  do  to  inherit  eternal  life,  he  taught  them  to 
seek  for  the  path  to  eternal  extinction,  and  proclaimed 
as  the  only  true  creed,  the  doctrine  of  the  ultimate 
resolution  of  everything  into  nothing,  of  every  entity 
into  pure  nonentity. 

We  may  well  ask,  then,  by  what  means  he  made  his 
views  popular  even  with  the  people  of  India  ? 

It  is  evident  that  the  system  of  the  Brahmans  had 
run  its  course.  Their  ascendancy  had  assumed  a  polit- 
ical character.  By  means  of  the  laws  of  caste  their 
influence  had  pervaded  the  whole  social  fabric,  not  as 
a  healthful  influence,  but  as  a  deadly  poison. 

It  was  impossible  for  one  to  assert  any  freedom  of 
thought  or  action  without  being  impeded  on  all  sides 
by  the  Brahmanic  law,  and  the  oppressed  and  discon- 
tented people  were  ripe  for  a  change.  The  ceremo- 
nials had  become  so  constant,  so  expensive  and  so 
unendurable,  that  when  Buddha  proclaimed  them  use- 
less the  multitudes  gladly  flocked  to  his  standard. 

His  success  was  also  greatly  accelerated  by  political 
events.  Chandra-gupta  had  assumed  his  supremacy  in 
India  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  caste,  which  forbade 
the  kingship  to  any  but  the  military  class.  Neither  he 
nor  his  successors  could  hope  for  the  support  of  the 
Brahmans,  therefore  his  grandson  Asoka  gladly  availed 
himself  of  the  influence  of  the  new  sect.  The  low- 
born king  saw  his  natural  allies  in  the  multitude  of 
mendicants  who  opposed  the  Brahmanic  law,  and 
would,  if  possible,  set  aside  the  power  which  denied 
his  right  to  the  throne.  He  therefore  gave  all  of  his 


208  PRIMITIVE    BUDDHISM. 

influence  to  the  Buddhists,  and  they  soon  attained  an 
importance  which  their  founder  little  anticipated. 

It  mattered  not  to  the  people  of  India  that  the 
expensive  gifts  with  which  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  fee  the  Brahmans  were  merely  diverted  into  another 
channel,  and  they  welcomed  the  army  of  beggars  who 
seemed  to  deliver  them  from  the  exactions  of  the 
priesthood. 

"Those  who  see  in  Buddhism  not  a  social  but  a 
religious  reform  have  been  deceived  by  the  later  Bud- 
dhist literature,  and  particularly  by  the  controversies 
between  the  Buddhists  and  Brahmans,  which,  in  later 
times,  led  to  the  expulsion  of  the  former  from  India 
and  to  the  political  re-establishment  of  Brahmanism."1 

Buddha  began  with  a  very  simple  creed  —  only  the 
promulgation  of  "the  four  verities."  He  proclaimed 
that  all  existence  involved  only  sorrow  and  suffering ; 
that  sorrow  was  produced  by  our  affections  and  desire 
of  any  kind,  especially  the  desire  for  life.  He  also 
claimed  that  our  affections  must  be  destroyed  in  order 
to  destroy  the  root  of  sorrow,  and  that  he  could  teach 
mankind  to  eradicate  all  affection. 

This  creed  was  easily  understood,  and  he  received 
people  of  every  caste,  who  were  thus  relieved  from  the 
expensive  and  burdensome  ceremonies  of  Brahmanism. 
Not  only  this,  but  his  most  enthusiastic  devotees  were 
also  sure  of  being  supported  without  work  on  the 
charitable  contributions  of  the  lay  members,  and  we 
cannot  wonder  that  the  number  of  his  followers  rap- 
idly increased,  for  the  doctrine  of  indolence  and  inac- 

i  P.  Max  Miiller,  Chips,  Vol.  I,  p.  221. 


CONCLUSION.  209 

tion    is   especially  "attractive    to    the    people    of    warm 
climates. 

But  human  nature  could  not  be  changed,  and  the 
system  which  began  by  refusing  any  form  of  prayer  to 
the  helpless  children  of  earth,  soon  counted  its  "  pray- 
ing machines "  by  thousands.  And  he  who  had  denied 
the  existence  not  only  of  a  Creator,  but  of  any  abso- 
lute being,  was  himself  deified  by  the  hungry  hearts  of 
millions  who  felt  the  need  of  a  Father  to  whom  they 
could  go  with  their  burdens  and  their  sorrows. 
To' 


INDEX. 


Abhi-dhamma  Pitaka,  170. 

Achievement,  Highest,  31,  39. 

Activity,  Literary,  in  the  East, 
150,  n.  153. 

Agnosticism,  105,  197. 

Ahasuerus,  152,  194. 

Alexander,  17. 

Alphabet,  Indian,  195;  Semitic, 
194. 

Amitabha  Buddha,  175;  Paradise 
of,  174. 

Amitayur-dhyana,  163,  174, 175. 

Amravatti,  Relic  Mounds  in,  48 ; 
Buddhist  Carvings  at,  86. 

Ananda,  51,  79,  96,  145,  147, 
164. 

Ancient  Empires,  n.  192,  n.  193. 

Aii£uttara  Nikaya,  86,  163. 

Animals,  Sacred.,  81,  103;  vener- 
ation for,  102. 

Anomadassin,  36. 

Antelope,  the  Wily,  82,  93. 

Arahats,  59,  130,  131. 

Artaxerxes  Longimanus,  n.  195. 

Asankheyyas,  32. 

Asankheyya  Sutta,  n.  85. 

Arabian  Nights,  n.  99. 

Asceticism,  63,  68,  69. 

Asia,  Eastern,  14,  18. 

Asiatic   Society  of    Bengal,   24; 


Journal  of,  n.  56;  of  London, 

24. 

Asoka,  17,  172,  207. 
Asuras,  111. 
Assyrians,  194. 
Assyrian  Tablets,  n.  153. 
Atheism,  19,  104,  107,  108,  109, 

198,  n.  204. 

211 


Attavada,  75. 
Austerities,  20,  69. 
Avalokitesvara,  eleven  heads  of, 
113. 

B. 

Babylonia,  192. 
Babylonians,  194. 
Baskets,  Three,  155,  195. 
Bas-reliefs      Illustrating     Birth 

Stories,  86. 

Bats,  Five  Hundred,  160. 
Belief,  Orthodox,  87. 
Benares,  65, 97 ;  Discourse  at,  71 

73. 

Bhagavad-gita,  n.  70. 
Bharhut,  Buddhist  carvings  at, 

86,  n.  92,  103;  Great  Tope  at, 

n  101. 
Bigandet,  25. 

Births,  Series  of,  32,  87,  88,  103. 
Birth  Stories,  33,  82,  101. 
Bodhisat,  35,  46,  50,  52,  53,  56: 

Shrewdness  of,  90,  94,  96,  98, 

101. 

Bo-tree,  55,  57,  70, 113. 
Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  43, 

77,  163,  164. 
Bowls,  care  of,  150,  156. 
Borrower,  Universal,  196. 


Brahma,  Archangel,  47,  56,  n. 


70,  71,  77,  79,  109;  gods,  89, 
109,  110. 

Brahmans,  16, 18, 69,  83,  89, 108, 
151,199,204,207. 

Brahmanism,  14,  18,  28,  69,  83, 
118,  120,  126,  191,  201,  202, 
208;  Austerities  of,  69;  In- 
debtedness to,  151,  183. 


212 


INDEX. 


Brahma-jala  Sutta,  n.  85, 154. 

British  Museum,  118. 

Brothers,  Lay,  134. 

Buddha  Gautama,  Asceticism  of, 
63,  68;  Atheism  of,  19,  108; 
Birth  of,  42,  46,  47,  63,  64,  66; 
Numerous  dates  assigned  to 
birth  of,  64,  n.  80;  Biography 
of,  43,  63,  81 ;  Benevolence  of, 
35,  40,  47,  57,  202;  Buddhistic 
Account  of,  42 ;  Former  Births 
of,  46,  n.  61,  81,  82,  84,  89, 
101;  Five  Human,  110;  Death 
of,  43,  63,  80;  Historic  Sketch 
of,  63;  Originality  of ,  198,  204; 
Images  of,  112;  Indebtedness 
to  Brahmanism,  151,  183. 

Buddha-karita,  46,  n.  49,  n.  53, 
121,  163,  172. 

Buddha  Names,  Allegorical,  65. 

Buddhas,  Future,  32 ;  Numerous, 
31,  38,  40. 

Buddha,  Physical  Signs  of,  42, 
48,  59,  173,  176;  Predecessors 
of,  31,  38,  174;  Prophecy  of, 
147;  Teachings  of,  60,  71,  73, 
75,  77,  101,  107,  122,  124,  125, 
127,  135,  136,  139,  142,  146, 
156,  158,  162,  164,  167,  169. 

Buddhas,  Three,  37,38;  Wonders 
of,  150,  159. 

Buddha-ghosha,  155, 171. 

Buddha-vansa,  168.  • 

Buddhism,  A  Blessing  to  India, 
13,  18,  20,  30;  A  Benefit  to 
Women,  13,  21 ;  Critical  Study 
of,  13,  23;  In  China,  17,  30; 
Disappearance  from  India,  28 ; 
Highest  Achievement  of,  39, 
40,  41;  Nihilism  of,  129,  205; 
Number  of  Adherents,  7,  13, 
27;  Origin  and  Teachings,  13, 
31,  42,  82,  104,  133,  156,  163 ; 
Primitive,  13,  15,  20,  168,  198; 
Summum  bonum  of,  20,  130, 
132. 

Buddhists,  Canon  of,  8,  38,  45; 
Canon  Perpetuated  Orally,  42, 
88,  161. 

Buddhist  Literature,  25,  27,  43, 


44,  77,  87,  104,  137,  150,  168, 
183. 
Buddhist  Scriptures,  Extent  of, 

Buddhists,    Northern,    44,    115, 

132;  Southern,  50. 
Bull  who  won  the  Bet,  82,  94. 
Burmah,  15,  29. 
Burmese,  27. 
Burnouf,  9,  26,  n.  26,   50,   130, 

132,  182. 


c. 

Calcutta,  24. 

Canon,  Date  of,  150,  154;  Per- 
petuated Orally,  17,  42,  43,  88, 
152,  161. 

Caste,  16,  17,  18,  85,  304,  207. 

Catholicism,  15. 

Causes  of  Extensive  Influence, 
198,  205. 

Ceylon,  15,  18,  25,  28,  64,  110. 

Chandra-gupta,  17. 

Channa,  53,  54,  207. 

Chicago  Public  Library,  8. 

China,  14,  24,  28,  150,  174;  Bud- 
dhism a  disturbing  influence 
in,  30. 

Childers,  25,  128,  131. 

Christ,  190. 

Christianity,  28,  29,  n.  67,  197. 

Chiliocosm,  39. 

Commandments,  Ten,  125, 189. 

Confession,  137,  138, 146. 

Confucius,  30, 150,  190. 

Confucianism,  29,  201. 

Congress  of  Religions,  105. 

Converts,  First,  154. 

Contrasts,  Striking,  181. 

Councils,  17,  45,  86,  87, 154. 

Cowell,  Prof.  E.  B.,  25,  n.  100. 

Clothing,  Unsanitary,  141.  142. 


D. 

Daniel,  150, 194. 

Darius,  150,  194. 

Dates,  Numerous,  64,  n.  80. 

Davids,  T.  W.  Rhys,  25,  33,  44, 


INDEX. 


213 


46,  46,  87,  101,  130,  152,  153, 
191,  193. 

Delusion,  106, 107. 

Demon,  Sharp-f  anged,  35 ;  Wor- 
ship, 15, 110,  112,  197. 

Demerit,  125,  201, 202. 

Deva-datta,  92,  93;  Punishment 
of,  121. 

Deva-loka,  38. 

Dhamma-pada,  n.  71,  110,  120, 
154,  163,  167,  181,  182,  185, 
188,  190,  196,  203. 

Dhammas,  Nine,  44. 

Diacritical  Points,  11. 

Diamond-cutter,  104,  180. 

Dipavamsa,  n.  48,  85. 

Dipankara,  31,  32,  34,  59. 

Discourse  at  Benares,  63,  71. 

Dukkata,  156  158. 

E. 

Earthquakes,  Cause  of,  163, 164. 
East  India  Company,  24. 
Ecclesiastes,  n.  190. 
Egypt,  82,  n.  153,  185. 
Egyptians,  82,  83,  200. 
Eitel's  Lectures,  n.  102. 
Elephant,  White,  47,  86, 172, 205. 
Enlightenment,  16,  63,  70,  n.  122, 

166,  205. 

Escape,  the,  42,  53. 
Ethics,  Code  of.  125,  151. 
Ethiopia,  152, 194. 
Evidences,  Chronological,  155, 
Eye  of  Truth,  136. 
Exodus,  n.  189. 

F. 

Fa  Hian,  n.  64,  152. 

Fatal  Meal,  77. 

Fausboll,  25. 

Fairy,  or  devata,  165. 

Fire  Sermon,  62,  75. 

First  Path,  fruit  of,  60. 

First  Writings,  date  of  43. 

Fish,   Lament  of,  97;   and  his 

Wife,  82,  96. 
Flesh,  of  dogs,  140;  human,  141; 

of  lions,  140;  of  serpents,  140. 


Foucaux,  45 
Four  Truths,  76. 
Freer,  n.  45. 

Frog  born  into  one  of  the  heav- 
ens, 161. 
Fundamental  Prohibitions,  125. 

G. 

Gautama,  8,  31,  32,  33,  36,  37, 
38,  42,  51,  55,  66,  67,  68,  70, 
86,  89,  93,  184,  191,  199,  200, 

Gautami,  145,  146. 

Gemera,  n.  195. 

Godoshiu  Sect,  174. 

Gogerly,  25. 

Gopa,  50. 

Gordon,    Surgeon-General,    191, 

192. 

Gospels,  Similarities  to,  67. 
Greece,  150,  192. 
Greeks,  28. 

H. 

Heaven,  104, 118,  119. 

Hebrews,  150,  189. 

Hell,  114,  120. 

Hells,  thirty-six,  121;  of  Brah- 
manism,  121;  Buddha's  de- 
scription of,  122. 

Herodotus,  82. 

Hinduism,  14,  29,  118,  201. 

Hindustan,  16. 

Hindu  gods  recognized  by  Bud- 
dha, 108,  118. 

Hodgson,  154. 

Historic  Sense,  42. 


I. 

Idolatry,  104, 112. 

Idols,  113,  115,  199. 

Incantations,  23. 

Indian  Antiquary,  n.  100. 

India,  3,  13,  14,  17,  18,  23,  30, 
42,  88,  90,  102,  110,  112,  129, 
142,  150,  152,  192,  194,  195, 
207. 

Indra,  54,  185. 


214 


INDEX. 


Infants,  Sacrifice  of,  23. 

Influence  of  Christian  and  Mo- 
hammedan Thought,  109. 

Institute,  Victoria,  9. 

Integrity  of  the  Texts,  161. 

International  Congress  of  Ori- 
entalists, n.  29,  n.  30.  n.  39,  n. 
40. 

Introduction  a  1'Histoire  du  Bud- 
dhism, 25. 

Isaiah,  186. 

J. 

Jainism,  29. 

Japan,  14,  15,  24,  29. 

Jatakas,  33,  42,  45,  46,  82,  85, 
163,  164,  168,  191;  early  col- 
lections of,  86. 

Jetavana,  93,  96,  100. 

Jews,  the,  15,  191,  193,  194. 

Josephus,  193. 

Judge,  the  Wise,  99. 

Julien,  Stanislaus,  27. 

K. 

Kalpa,  n.  31,  32. 

Kapila,  doctrines  of,  65. 

Kanishka,  King,  45,  171,  172. 

Kanjur,  154. 

Kanthaka,  53,  54. 

Karma,   84,  107,  120,  175,  200, 

204. 

Kassapa,  59,  159,  160. 
Kashmir,  King  of,  171. 
Kern,  25,  64. 
Khandhaka,  156. 
Khuddaka-patha,  163. 
Kings,  Book  of,  98,  191. 
Koeppen,  n.  114. 
Konagamana,  62. 
Koudanna,  31,  34,  72. 
Kasola,  66. 

Kulla-vagga,  156,  n.  157,  n.  158. 
Kunda,  78. 

L. 

Lalita  Vistara,  42,  44,  46,  n.  48, 

n.  49,n..51,  55,  n.  85,  174. 
Lamas,  115. 


Lama,  Grand,  15. 

Lassen,  25,  193. 

Language,  Mongolian,  25. 

Lawgiver,  Jewish,  125. 

Laws,  Unsanitary,  138. 

Legge,  Dr.  James,  9,  28,  30,  n. 

38,  n.  39,  n.  40,  n.  67,  n.  111. 
Leviticus,  n.  189.  n.  190. 
Liberty,  Social,  20. 
Literature,    Buddhist,   150,  168, 

196,  198,  203;  Tantra,  149, 163, 

181,  182,  196;  Semitic,  98. 
Literary  Record,   Triibner's,  n. 

129. 

M. 

Magic,  110. 

Maha-yana,  106,  110,  163,  171. 

Mahendra,  171. 

Maha-vagga,  43,  n.  53,  n.  58,  71, 
75,  122,  139,  156,  175. 

Maha-parinibbana-Suttana,  77, 
n.  79, 163,  164,  n.  166. 

Mahavamsa,  n.  43. 

Mahoragas,  111. 

Maitreya,  112. 

Majjhima,  169. 

Mara,  55,  57,  79,  108, 110,  127. 

Mango  grove,  78. 

Mangala,  31,  34,  35. 

Manuscript,  Indian,  167. 

Manifestations,  Sphere  of,  31,  38. 

Matthew,  190. 

Marriages,  Child,  22. 

Maya,  66,  67. 

Meal,  the  Fatal,  63,  65,  77. 

Medians,  194. 

Medical  Knowledge  of  Ancient 
India,  191. 

Medicines,  Loathsome,  141. 

Megillah,  n.  195. 

Mendicants,  Order  of,  61,  79. 

Memories  of  Pre-existent  Condi- 
tions, 85. 

Metaphysics,  102,  104,  108,  122, 
177,  184,  198,  200. 

Metaphysician,  Buddhist,  129. 

Merit,  Accumulation  of,  22, 198, 
201,  202. 

Meru  Mountain,  119. 


INDEX. 


215 


Mesopotamia,  n.  153,  198. 

Mishna,  n.  195. 

Mitford,  150. 

Mohammedanism,  28. 

Monastery,  First,  42  61. 

Mongolia,  30 

Monks,  Directions  for,  183,  137; 
Frauds  Perpetrated  by,  112; 
Ordination  of,  133,  134;  Order 
of,  114,  148;  Protection  of, 
from  Serpents,  133;  Unsani- 
tary Clothing  of,  133;  Unsani- 
tary Laws  for,  133. 

Monkhood,  21,  133;  Formula  for 
Admission,  77, 134;  Results  of, 
133,  148. 

Monkeys  and  the  Demon,  82,  90. 

Morality,  104,  125,  182. 

Morris,  25. 

Moses,  191, 189. 

Mucalinda  the  Snake  King,  58, 
111;  Tree,  58. 

Mugheir,  192. 

Muller,  Prof.  F.  Max,  9,  11,  25, 
27,  63,  104,  129,  132,  151,  155, 
175,  177,  183,  193. 

Myth,  Theory  of,  63. 


N. 

Naga,  85,  159;  Worship,  15,  111. 

Naga-kanyas,  or  female  Naga*, 
111. 

Nanda,  King,  16. 

Nandi  Visala,  95,  96. 

Nanjio,  Bunyiu,  n.  38,  n.  175. 

Narada,  36. 

Nepal,  24,  44, 110,  154. 

Nepalese  Sanskrit  Works,  171. 

Nikanyas,  154. 

Nirvana,  39,  40,  41,  42,  103,  104, 
124,  126,  131,  181,  185,  198, 
201,  202,  204;  Contradictory 
Teaching  of  Buddhistic  Au- 
thorities, 127,  128;  Not  Origi- 
nal with  Buddha,  126;  Various 
Theories  Concerning,  127,128; 
Signification  of,  126. 

Non-existence  of  the  Soul,  63,  74, 
106.. 


Nuns,  21,  133;  Indebted  to  An 
anda    145;    Rules  pertaining 

Northern  School,  163. 


o. 

Occult  Meaning,  n.  114. 
Offense,  Dukkata,  136. 
Oldenberg,  Dr.,  9,  25,43,  55,65, 

68,  70,  90,  124,  125, 128,  152. 
Om!    mani    padme  Hum!    114, 

Ophir,  193. 

Order,  growth  of,  134. 

Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion, 

n.  44,  n.  84. 
Orthodox  Belief,  82. 
Oxford  University,  28. 


p. 

Padmuttara,  31,  36. 

Paduma,  36. 

Pali,  25,  27;  Canon,  25, 150,  154, 
155;  Characters,  25;  Early 
Texts,  42,  43,  55,  67,  70,  155, 
159,  160,  161,  163,  168,  167, 
169;  Pitakas,  68,  84,  86,  88; 
Suttas,  101. 

Palestine,  n.  153,  192, 194. 

Path,  Eight-fold,  71,  125,  182. 

Patimakkha,  137,  164. 

Pathoma  Sompothiyan,  n,  47. 

Parimitas,  126. 

Pari-nirvana,  103,  104,  131. 

Parivara-patha,  156. 

Parajika  Books,  149,  182. 

Patna,  Council  of,  87. 

Pattini,  goddess,  110. 

Philosophies,  7,  184,  191. 

Phoenicia,  192. 

Phoenicians,  192. 

Persians,  28, 194. 

Pessimism,  104,  117,  118,  184, 
197,  198,  206,  208. 

Perfections,  Ten,  92. 

Pitaka,  Second,  163;  Third,  163, 
170;  Vinaya,  94,  108,  150, 155. 


216 


INDEX. 


Pippala,  or  Pipal  Tree,  69,  113. 

Pisacas,  111. 

Possible  Borrowing  from  Semitic 

Literature,  98. 
Possible  Sources  of  Information, 

182,  192. 
Polytheism,  104,   109,  118,  119, 

197. 
Prayer,  104, 114, 116,  209;  Bells, 

116;  Jewel,  114;  Wheels,  30, 

115,  209. 

Pragna-paramita,  163,  180. 
Pretas,  111. 
Priesthood,   Brahmanic,   17,    18, 

20. 

Pronunciation,  11. 
Prophecy  of  Buddha,  133,  147. 
Proverbs,  186,  187,  188,  n.  189, 

190. 
Psalms,  n.  187,  n.  188,  n.  189,  n. 

190. 

Psalmist,  187,  188,  189. 
Pujawaliya,  n,  49. 
Punishment,  120,  122,  123,  163, 

167,  168 
Pyrrhonism,  Metaphysical,  129. 


Races,  Semitic,  153. 

Rahula,  51,  60,  61,  68. 

Ragnun,  Great  Bell  at,  37. 

Rajendra-lala  Mitra,  44. 

Raiayatana  Tree,  58. 

Rakshasas,  111. 

Recitation  of  the  Law,  15,  16, 

160. 
Refuge  in  Buddha,  77;  in  Law, 

77;  in  Order,  77. 
Regions  of  Desire,  39 ;  of  Form, 

39;  Without  Form,  39. 
Relic  Mounds,  47, 
Republicanism,  Doctrines  of,  16. 
Renan,  22, 116. 
Renunciation,  Great,  42,  52. 
Return  Home,  42,  59. 
Resources,  Four,  135,  136. 
Revata,  31,  36. 
Rig-veda,  83. 


Ritter,  Carl  Von,  193. 

Rites  and  Ceremonies,  75. 

Ritual,  Vedic,  16. 

Robes,    Directions    for  Making, 

138. 

Roman,  28. 
Rome,  Church  of,  15. 
Rugs,  Directions  for  Making,  37. 


s. 

Sabbasava  Sutta,  106. 
Saddharma  Pundarika,  86. 
Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  8,  n. 

43,  n.  46,  n.  85,  n.  165,  n.  109, 

n.  165. 

Sacrifices,  110. 
Saint  Hilaire,  Barthelemy,  9,  29, 

n.  67,  180. 

Saivism,  110,  117,  197. 
Sakka,  King  of  the  Devas,  159, 

160. 

Saktism,  110,  197. 
Sakwala,  56. 
Sakya-muni,  29,  64,  65. 
Sakya-sina,  64. 
Sakyas,  50,  64,  66. 
Salvation,  104,  124. 
Samana-phala-sutta,  n.  84,  164. 
Samyutta  Nikaya,  n.  128. 
Sanchi,  48,  86. 

Sankhya,  n.  114,  183, 197,  199. 
Sara-sagraha,  n.  43. 
Satapatha-brahmana,  183. 
Sayce,   Prof.  A.  H.,  9,  n.  153, 

192, 193. 

Scholars,  Oriental,  10,  24,  87. 
Schilling,  Baron,  115. 
Schools  of  Thought,  17. 
Science  of  Religion,  n.  43. 
Schlagintweit,  Dr.,  n.  115. 
Schmidt,  24. 
Scriptures,  Buddhist,  17,  42,  43, 

86,  150,  154,  161;   Extent  of, 

150. 

Senart,  28,  n.  45,  64. 
Serpents,   Five   Kinds  of,   146; 

Four    Royal    Breeds  of,  143; 

How  they  may  obtain  Human 

Nature,  144;  Protection  from, 


INDEX. 


217 


142,  148;  Who  joined  the  Or- 
der, 133,  143. 
Sex,  Change  of,  22,  198. 
Shamanism,  15. 
Shintoism,  15. 
8iam,  15. 
Siddhata,  37. 
Similarities  to  the  Gospels,   67; 

to  Old    Testament    Teaching, 

183,  186,  204. 
Sikhin,  61. 
Singhalese,  27. 

Siva,  14,  15,  110,  182,  196,  203. 
Skandhas,  39,  74,  n.  180. 
Sobhita,  31,  36. 
Societe  Asiatique,  24,  25. 
Socrates,  150. 

Solomon,  186,  188,  191,  192. 
Solomon,  Judgment  of,  98. 
Soul,    Heresy  of  Belief  in,   74; 

Non-existence  of,  63,  74,  106, 

200. 

Souphir,  198. 
Studies  in  Religious  History,  n. 

22,  n.  117. 
Subha-sutta,  154. 
Sudra,  16,  17. 
Suddhodana,  66,  172. 
Suiata,  31,  37. 
Sukhavati-vyhua,  32,  174. 
Sumana,  31,  35,  36. 
Summary,  183,  195. 
Sumedha,  31,  36. 
Sumem  Mountain,  37. 
Sutta,  Nipata,  154,  163,  164,  168; 

Extracts  from,  169;  Pitaka,  n. 

74. 

Suttee,  Prevalence  of,  23, 199. 
Sutras,   Discourses   of    Buddha, 

155. 

Sutra  Period,  151. 
Sravasti,  87. 


T. 

Tabernacle,  191. 

Talmud,  n.  195. 

Tanjur,  154. 

Tantra  Literature,  149,  163,  182. 

Tantric  Doctrines,  203. 


Tantrisrn,  110,  148. 

Taoist,  14. 

Taoism,  28. 

Tathagata,  40,  43,  108,  147; 
Final  Extinction  of.  77,  79, 
127. 

Tel-el- Amarna,  n.  153. 

Temple,  Hindu,  191. 

Temptation,  Great,  42,  55,  173. 

Text,  Integrity  of,  150. 

Texts,  Vinaya,  94,  108,  150,  155, 
161. 

Tibet,  15,  20. 

Tibetans,  154;  Canon  of,  24. 

Tooth  Sticks,  150,  158. 

Tradition,  Vedic,  48. 

Transmigration,  23,  26,  70,  82, 
84,198,  200,  201,  204,  205,  206; 
Origin  of  the  Theory,  82;  Re- 
lief from,  63,  71,  76,  118. 

Tri-pitaka,  150,  155,  171,  181, 
182. 

Truths,  Pour,  71,  76. 


u. 

Upanishads,  83, 150,  200. 
Upasampada,  136,  137,  144. 
Universal  Spirit,  202. 
Unsanitary  Clothing,   133,  142; 

Food,   139,    140;    Laws,  133, 

136. 


Vagrakkhedika,    104,   163,  177; 

Doctrinal    Teaching   of,   163, 

178. 

Various  Forms  Assumed,  82,  88. 
Vedas,  150,  199. 
Vedic  Hymns,  151;  Philosophy, 

199;  Sacrifices,  199. 
Vessabhu,  62. 
Vesali,  Council  of,  86,  88. 
Victoria  Institute,  9,  191, 192. 
Vibhanga,  156. 

Vinaya  Pitaka,  94,  108, 162, 196. 
Vishnu,  14. 
Vispassin,  37,  61. 
Visions,  Four,  42,  52,  68. 


218 


INDEX. 


W. 

Was,  the  Rainy  Season,  100. 

Weber,  25. 

Williams,  Sir  Monier  Monier-,  9, 

11,  25,  n.  81,  43,  44,  45,  89, 

181, 149,  152,  197. 
Wilson,  Prof.  H.  H.,  44. 
Wise  Judge,  82. 
Wisdom,  Supreme,  32. 
Woman,  Benefit  to,   3,  13,   21, 

198. 
Writing,  Art  of,  151. 


x. 

Xerxes,  152,  194. 


Y. 

Yakshas,  n.  99. 

Yakshini,  99,  100. 

Yama,  120. 

Yasodhara,  50,  51;  Lament  of, 

54,  173. 
Yoga,  20. 

z. 

Zoroaster,  150. 
Zoroastrianisra,  28,  201. 


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